Rise of the Guardian 2: Forbidden Memories
by Guardian of the crest
Summary: When the League finds out an ancient barrier is crumbling, it becomes a race against time to stop the horror behind it from breaking through.Start of BMWW pairing in upcoming chapters! Please R&R!
1. Prologue

GOTC: Well, here we are everyone!! On the verge of introducing _Rise of the Guardian 2: Forbidden Memories_!

Ace: Hoo-fricken-ray….

GOTC: Oh knock it off, you don't have anything else better to do right now do you?

Ace: Sure, I could be shoving that laptop up your-

GOTC: -AND we're moving on! I would first like to take a moment and thank all of the loyal readers out there who reviewed during the last story! I realize the last chap of AP,MA was kinda short, and there was a few problems with the plot in the last story, but I hope that you will find ROTG2 begins to solve some of the problems you had. This is going to be a seven story series-

Ace: Maybe more if she writes the sequel….

GOTC: That everyone knows about now…. Anyhoo, Like I was saying I appreciate the support from all of you, and hope you will continue reviewing for the many chappies to come!! And now…SQUEAKY!!

Squeaky: Squeak! (Welcome back everyone, and hello to all of our new viewers that hopefully are reading this. For all of you new people out there, GOTC does not own the League, but Ace is hers, so back off.)

Ace: Yes, he did say that in one "Squeak."

GOTC: Ponder it later, you have a story to get to. So hop to it! And readers, I hope you enjoy the first "chapter" of this fic!! OH! By the way: If you have not already read _Rise of the Guardian: Ancient Power, Modern Age_ stop right where you are, turn around and go read it. Otherwise this fic won't make a whole lot of sence, and you'll miss out on some things that will be going on in later stories. So get moving, read the first one then dive into this fic!

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_Rise of the Guardian 2: Forbidden Memories_

CHAPTER 0: Prologue

The city below moved along at the hustled pace it had become so accustomed. People passed each other on the streets, taxis blared their horns in futile attempts to hurry along the traffic in front of them, and their whole world turned unaware that they were being watched from a dark office stories above their heads.

A single high-backed chair was sitting facing a large office window, looking down on the hustle and bustle of life on the streets below, when a dark voice spoke from the shadows.

"Lording above your kingdom again Luthor?" The voice chuckled darkly.

The chair swung around, and Lex Luthor got to his feet to face his new guest, irritated by the interruption.

"Like you're one to talk," He snorted, "Slinking around in the dark like you're some prince of the night."

"At least I don't sit on some throne like the God you think that you are," Came the amused reply, "I've come to collect my half of the deal."

"You're not collecting anything," Luthor said in a very business-like tone, "You haven't held up all of your end of the bargain yet. Especially after all of the trouble you have been causing me. It took weeks to get those reporters off of my back after what happened in Gotham."

A gleam of white teeth flashed in the dark shadows of Luthor's office as the intruder began to laugh.

"Has it been any more trouble than the League has caused you?," He said, "You worry too much. You shouldn't be worried about not being able to attend the funeral for the mighty Justice League, because if this machine does what you say it does, then you should already have your tux picked out."

"It's not ready yet," Luthor scowled, "I haven't been able to test it, since I haven't found a power source potent enough to get it running without pulling the energy from half of Metropolis."

More laughing came from the shadows, as Argon slowly emerged holding a large, pale green crystal in the palm of his hand.

"Leave _that_ to me," Argon chuckled, basking in the faint glow of the crystal, "And the League will be dead before the end of the month…."

--

GOTC: Ok, short, I know, but it's a prologue and just meant to get the whole plot of the story moving.

Ace: And for once, I wasn't in the whole chapter!

GOTC: Don't get comfortable. Remember to R&R and I'll be posting the next chappie soon!!


	2. Story Time

GOTC: Alrighty readers!! Now that you've read (hopefully) the prologue, we can start to get into the meat of this story!!

Ace: This is your favorite book isn't it?

GOTC: Yep! Well…..Five and seven are good ones too….And then there's the first book of the sequel series… 

Ace: Ok just stop. You're going to scare readers away with this never ending fic of doom.

GOTC: Of course it will when you say it like that! I just like to think of it as an ongoing reading experience!

Ace: And you really need to stop reading the dictionary….

GOTC: You're just jealous of my awesome vocabulary. But we won't dwell on that now. SQUEAKY!! DISCLAIMER!!

Squeaky: Squeak! (Hey! I like to read the dictionary too! GOTC denies any and all ownership of the Justice League, and its affiliates. Ace belongs to her though.)

Ace: That last part wasn't very eloquent.

Squeaky: Squeak. (There's only so many ways to say you're a slave for life.)

GOTC: So true. Now on to the fic!!

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_Rise of the Guardian 2: Forbidden Memories_

CHAPPTER 1: Story Time

"_At the dawn of time, two great entities were created to rule over the Earth. One of Light, the other of Shadow. They were supposed to rule in harmony. They were supposed keep those cosmic scales of Good and Evil in perfect balance. But nothing in this world is perfect…."_

"_The Shadow enjoyed power, and before long, craved it. It spread disease and famine through the nations of Man to plant the seeds of darkness in their very souls. It fed from the growing darkness, slowly growing itself , and little by little, began to tip those delicate scales."_

"_But the Shadow's hunger was not something so easily satiated. It craved more, and to get it, the single entity became a horde of thousands. It manifested into an army of blood-thirsty demons that thundered across the land, destroying every living thing in their path as they ravaged the landscape. But the Light did not sit idle._

"_Instead of matching the Shadow's army, the Light manifested itself into seven great Warriors: Danek the Strong, Jarten the Quick, Latsu the Clever, Tenia the Kind, Resenya the Bold, Semato the Silent, and Kyron the Healer. With the essence of the Light divided equally amongst the Seven, the Hordes of the Shadow fell against their might. The Seven fought back, and slowly drove the scattered remnants of the broken army to the darkest recesses on Earth."_

"_But the Shadows were only defeated, not beaten. In the darkness, the armies gathered again, but did not attack the world of Man again. They had the might to destroy the Seven, but they were a scattered force. The Shadows needed a General-"_

"This isn't story time Ace," Batman's voice said from the speaker on the Monitor Womb's control panel.

"Can you blame me?" Ace replied leaning back in his chair casually, nudging Flash with his elbow.

"Seriously Bats," Flash yawned, "Monitor duty has got to be the most dull thing to do up here. Besides, Ace's story was just about to get good-"

"You'll have to finish it some other time," Batman interrupted, "I need you both down here in the briefing room for a meeting."

Flash cast a curious glance at Ace who was still sitting in his chair. Ace stretched and yawned, before rising to his feet.

"What do you think it's about?" Flash asked.

"Your guess is as good as mine," Ace said groggily rubbing a hand over his face.

"You feelin' ok?" Flash asked looking back at Ace, "You look tired."

Dark circles hung under Ace's eyes, that were beginning to look like he had a pair of permanent black eyes. Deep lines had started to show on his face from wearing a far-off look nearly 24-7. The more time went on, the more he looked like he was being haunted.

"I'm just a little tired," Ace admitted, "Not used to changing time zones every half hour up here."

"Don't worry," Flash said slapping Ace on the back, "A few more weeks and you'll be used to it. Race ya' to the meeting?"

"You're on," Ace grinned as Flash zipped away out of the Womb.

Ace turned the opposite direction, and vaulted himself over the edge of the Womb, and fell several stories before catching a protruding ledge and swung himself into an open hallway. He rolled once back onto his feet, and kept running into the open door at the end of the hall. Batman, J'onn, Lantern and Hawkgirl were already seated around the table as Ace came rushing inside.

"NO FAIR!" Flash yelled as he came to a skidding halt beside him, "I had to take the long way around while you used that suicidal shortcut!"

"You have your way, and I have mine," Ace said smugly taking a seat, "You have super powers, so I had to even the odds."

"Are you finished?" Batman asked impatiently, bringing up a digital map behind him.

"Yeah, now what's this meeting all about?" Flash said slumping into the nearest chair.

Batman pressed a button on the remote in his hand, illuminating several spots on the map. They were all scattered across the world, without any seeming pattern in their locations.

"For the last week and a half, there have been some strange appearances showing up all over the globe," Batman said bringing up several news feeds on top of the map, "People have been claiming to have witnessed apparitions of monsters, and hearing strange noises around the same time the appearances happen."

"So?" Hawkgirl shrugged, "It just sounds like someone is trying to get a lot of attention. Have we checked to see if there were any high-profile robberies committed during these sightings?"

"That was one of the first things we checked," J'onn said folding his hands on the table, "But there was nothing relevant in any of the searches."

"How do we even know that these sightings are related?" Lantern suggested, "The first one could have just been a hoax, then some copycat picked up where he left off."

"We had considered the that," Batman said pulling up another frame of a grainy home video, "But then this was recovered from the scene of an attack about one hour ago."

"Wait," Flash said as the video began to play, "An attack?"

"That's right," Batman said, "This 'hoax' is beginning to escalate."

He opened his mouth to say more, but the sound of screaming cut him off. People were running in all directions, as a patch of darkness in the sky began to block out the sun. An unnatural grating sound seemed to emanate from the center of the hole in the sky, that sounded like the howl of some demon from the depths of hell. Then, something slithered in the darkness, writhing in the camera's frame for just an instant before the ground began to shake, and the camera fell from its owner's hands.

Batman turned the clip off and faced the rest of the silent League.

"Whoever is behind this poses a genuine threat to the security off the world," He said addressing them, "Countries are beginning to accuse each other of illegal weapons testing, and some are preparing to take military action."

"Against _what?_" Hawkgirl scoffed, "Are they just going to stand with a gun pointed at everyone's head until someone comes forward?"

"They're scared," J'onn said calmly, "And they'll do what they feel is necessary to keep themselves safe. Superman is in Washington now trying to talk Congress out of declaring war, and Wonder Woman is helping with clean up in L.A. after that earthquake we saw on the tape."

Lantern sat back and rubbed the top of his head in mild frustration, and looked at Ace, who still hadn't taken his eyes off of the blank screen.

"What about you Ace?" He asked, "Any theories?"

"Not off the top of my head," He sighed, "Keeping the nations calm should be first priority for now, until we have more concrete evidence as to who could be behind the attacks."

"Damage control? That's all you think we should do?" Hawkgirl said astonished.

"The attacks are sparatic, and little to no damage has been done with the exception of this latest one," Ace said getting to his feet, "We have no suspect, no motive, and no idea which way to proceed. So yeah, until we have more information, that's exactly what I think we should do."

"Where are you going?" J'onn asked as Ace began to walk out of the room.

"Bed," He said over his shoulder, "My shift's over, and if you don't mind, I'd like to get a few hours of sleep."

Batman growled inwardly at Ace. He had regretted on a daily basis now asking Ace to join the League. He had helped out around the Watchtower, and responded when his help was needed, but lately, he'd become irritable, and taken a wait-and-see approach to nearly every situation he was confronted with. And _that_ was something Batman couldn't stand. But as Ace had turned around to bid them goodnight, Batman caught a glimpse of something in Ace's eyes. Shoved to the back, and hidden beneath layers of disguise and fatigue, it took him a moment to realize: _There was fear in Ace's eyes_.

--

GOTC: Wellllll? Good yes?

Ace: Eh. Not bad.

GOTC: Forget you, you wouldn't know good writing if it bit you in the face.

Ace: No, but this piece of crap just smacked me in the face- GET AWAY FROM ME WITH THAT BAT!!

GOTC: Excuse me while I beat him into submission. Please remember to R&R as your reviews (good or bad) are the fuel for this fic!!


	3. The First Move

GOTC: Sorry all. I know it's been a while, but I've been going through a rough time dealing with the loss of two members of my family in the same week. However, I do appreciate those of you who reviewed this, an I hope I can continue t look forward to you input in future chapters!! Isn't that right Ace?

Ace: _One_ person said they liked your continuous story of doom…..

GOTC: Other people reviewed too. You just are upset because someone other than me told you to shut your face.

Ace: Whatever…

GOTC: Indeed, so let's begin! Squeaky!

Squeaky: Squeak! (HAHA! Bout time someone told you off! No ownage here by the way.)

Ace: Whyyoulittle-

GOTC: ATCH! STORY NOW! SO GET IN THERE AND DO IT FOR THE READERS!!

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_Rise of the Guardian 2: Forbidden Memories_

CHAPTER 2: The First Move

_Ace's feet pounded against the hard packed jungle path. Trees and vines all snaked across his path, tearing at his exposed skin and clothes, trying to hamper his progress any way they could. His lungs burned from the exertion, and his muscles screamed for a reprive, but he kept forced his way through the foliage at what seemed like an agonizingly slow pace, despite how fast he pushed himself._

_Aside from the sound of him crashing through the undergrowth, the whole jungle was silent. No birds screeched in the trees, no bugs stirred to bite. The air hung heavy in the sky, as if weighted down by the angry black clouds that churned above._

_Ace stumbled once as he broke out of the jungle and fell face first onto a white sand beach, before plowing forward without even wiping the grit from his eyes. Sickly waves rolled unnoticed onto shore, leaving a thin, oily film on the shore. Out in the open, Ace forced himself faster, but as he drew closer to his goal, a haze began to surround him._

_The air carried faint cries and screams for help, as well as the putrid scent of burning rubble and flesh. At last, he reached the burning city, homes in ruin, and blazing fires running rampant through the streets. People ran screaming in terror, clamoring over each other in a desperate attempt to flee some unseen horror. A roar that Ace felt rather than heard, sent a wave of pain splitting through his right shoulder, dropping him to his knees in pain. A deep, sinister laughter in front of him caught his attention, as a pair of blood red eyes met his, and a massive gauntlet cane cashing down on top of him…_

Ace woke with a start drenched in a sheen of cold sweat, still clutching the scar that ran across his shoulder, that laugh still ringing in his ears. A sudden wave of nausea swept over him, and he silently rolled out of bed and stuck his head into a waiting wastebasket. It took several minutes for the nausea to pass, and leaned back against the wall of his room, wiping the bile from his lips.

He stared up at the ceiling, trying to wipe those red eyes out of his memory without success.

"Not again…" He mumbled to himself, holding his head in his hands, "Please not again…."

The dreams had been frequent visitors now for nearly three weeks. Almost the instant Ace closed his eyes, he was plunged back into that recurring nightmare. Sleep was no longer an option for him, and the League was beginning to suspect that there was a bigger problem going on than "having trouble adjusting". Ace gritted his teeth, as he continued to kneed the muscle in his scarred shoulder. The pain refused to subside.

With a sigh, Ace got to his feet, leaning on the wall for support. His small room in the Watchtower was nearly barren. A bed, lamp on a nightstand, and a lone hook on the back of his door, were the only objects to brake up the four sterile grey walls. The other members of the League had all decorated their rooms in some manner, although Batman's quarters could hardly be considered decorated. _Buried_ maybe, but it was something at least. It wasn't so much a conscious choice, Ace had just never really felt the need. Besides, he didn't exactly have much to decorate with. If Kyadreon couldn't carry it on his back, Ace didn't own it.

He grabbed his shirt and pulled it over his head, before slinging his jacket and blade over his shoulder and walked out the door. The Watchtower was completely silent as Ace walked down the halls, and it was a little unnerving. On Earth, there was always some kind of noise, some sign of life around, but up here in the clutch of space, only silence. Ace glanced out one of the windows at Earth hovering serenely next to them. First chance he got, he was going on patrol. It didn't matter where, he just needed to get home.

Finally Ace reached his destination. He tapped a door in front of him lightly, as it slid open with a hiss of compressed air. Several flashing panels, and a long bulletproof window looked into an empty room next door. Ace walked up to one of the panels and adjusted a few of the dials before entering the next room, with the computer screeching its displeasure with the override code Ace had just entered. He took several deep breaths, forcing the noise of the blaring warning alarm to the back of his mind as he assumed a fighting stance. Suddenly, four doors flew open with another hiss of air, and drones poured out of the openings at Ace.

"_Ok," He thought to himself, "From the bottom up. First, the feet-"_

Ace spun around, delivering a solid kick to the nearest drone with the ball of his foot. The drone flew backward into a group of attackers, knocking all of them onto the floor in a jumbled heap. Following through with his momentum, he smashed his shin into the robotic head of another. Two steel arms wrapped themselves around his neck, and tried to wrestle him to the ground. Ace grabbed hold of them and pulled the drone over his head and slammed it into the ground, before crushing its head with his knee. He planted one foot in the floor, and forced his shoulder into the nearest drone, then spun and made contact against another with his elbow.

At last the pain in his shoulder was beginning to subside as he vigorously put himself through the workout. Strangely enough, he was actually starting to enjoy himself. But as he pulled back his fist to punch through the last drone's face plate, his eyes locked with the glowing red eyes of the drone. Suddenly, that demonic laugh split through Ace's head. His whole body froze, as his shoulder erupted again in fresh agony. The drone took advantage of Ace's hesitation, and smashed into him full force, sending him flying into the wall just underneath the bulletproof window.

"Having trouble?" A deep, familiar voice chided.

Ace grumbled to himself at having his privacy interrupted and pulled his sword on the drone, slicing it neatly in half.

"Shouldn't you be asleep or something?" Ace growled at Batman standing in the window.

"I was just about to ask you the same thing," Batman said folding his arms, and shutting down the simulator, "It seems a little late to be destroying things."

"Depends on what time zone you're talking about," Ace scoffed, rubbing where the back of his head, "Now turn this thing back on. I'm not tired yet."

"You seemed awful tired during the meeting,"

Ace turned around to face Batman through the glass. Exhaustion, irritation, and the stress from the recurring nightmares provoked a dangerous glare from Ace.

"Stay out of my business Bruce." Ace snarled.

Ace held the glare at the Dark Knight for a moment before turning around to prepare for another round, when his breath suddenly hitched in his throat. A confused look passed over Ace's face as he reached for his neck. Then he felt like something just slammed full force into his chest, and he collapsed to the ground. He could feel something tugging on him, not physically, but like an invisible hand had grabbed a hold of his very soul and was slowly dragging it from his body. Pain radiated from his shoulder to spread across the rest of his body like wildfire. For a moment, he thought it was Shade, but rather than feeling like he was about to explode, everything seemed like it was all fading away to a single point. He clutched desperately to his shoulder, as he writhed on the floor, praying that whatever was happening would pass soon.

Batman watched as Ace halted mid-step, reached for his throat, then collapsed to the ground. In the same instant, an alarm blared overhead. Batman punched in an override for the door, and forced his way through. He reached Ace shaking on the floor, and rolled him over onto his back. He was in a lot of pain, that much was obvious, but he just couldn't figure out why.

"Ace!" Batman said shaking him by the collar, "Ace! Snap out of it!"

Ace's eyes were now rolled back in his head, but tried to swivel around as if they were trying to focus on something. Then just as soon as it started, Ace stopped shaking, and became deadweight in Batman's arms.

"Ace!" Batman roared over the blaring alarm, "Dammit wake up!!"

At last, Ace's half-lidded eyes focused on Batman, trying to drag himself back to reality. Suddenly, he blinked twice and the haze cleared from his eyes. He quickly sat up, then had to stabilize himself as the world turned a nauseating 180 degrees.

"What just happened?" Batman yelled over the alarm

Ace didn't answer him, but stared at the flashing red light that accompanied the screeching Klaxon.

"When did that start?" He asked groggily

"Just after you passed out," Batman said hauling Ace to his feet.

"No…." Ace argued disoriented, "That can't be right….."

Batman sighed inwardly with frustration. For all intents and purposes, Ace looked like he'd just had a massive seizure. He needed medical attention, instead of arguing about the alarm. There were more than enough of them to take care of the alert, Batman decided, as he started to help Ace towards the exit.

"J'onn," Batman called over the intercom, "Ace just passed out in the training room. I'm on my way to the medical bay now. Can you handle the alert?"

"I'm not sure yet," Came the stressed reply, "The warning just came in from Wonder Woman in L.A. Those 'sightings' have somehow materialized in downtown Los Angeles, and we're getting similar reports from Superman in D.C."

Ace came alive suddenly, after hearing J'onn's disturbing report. Batman fought to control him, incase there was something wrong internally that caused his collapse, but Ace spun around, and slammed Batman into the wall, before tearing out of the exit.

"Batman!" J'onn called, hearing the confrontation, "What's going on?"

"Wish I knew!" Batman snapped back, taking off after Ace, "Something's gotten into Ace, and now he's headed your way."

Ace barreled down the halls of the Watchtower, hell-bent on getting back to Earth. He thundered ahead, not even pausing to slow down as he rounded treacherous corners.

"_I should never have left the planet," _He swore to himself, "_This wouldn't be happening now otherwise! I have to get back and fix this. Stop it before things get worse….Dammit! I won't let that monster come back!!"_

He rounded another corner at full speed, and came face-to-face with J'onn. The Martian grabbed hold of his shoulders, and tried to force him into a seat in the monitor womb.

"Ace stop for a second-" He tried reasoning, just before Ace rammed into him with his shoulder.

J'onn doubled over from the impact, and Ace rushed to the control panel. Wonder Woman's distress signal was coming in crystal clear, as he punched in a new code that set the Watchtower humming with activity. Ace ran a hurried glance over the panel one more time before leaping over the side of the Womb, and onto the main floor of the hanger. The landing was hardly perfect, as Ace crashed painfully to the floor, but kept running towards a glowing platform in the center of the room.

"Wait!" J'onn yelled, as he saw where Ace was headed, "You're coordinates aren't right!"

"Stop him!" Batman yelled, finally catching up

Frantically, J'onn punched a button and the humming quickly began to die. But just before the glow of the pad died, Ace's foot connected with it, and in a brilliant flash, he was gone . Batman scanned the control panel in an instant, and shouted into his com-link.

"Diana! I need you downtown now!" He ordered, "Ace just teleported to L.A. a second ago!"

"Good!" She grunted as she continued struggling with an unseen foe, "There's hundreds of these things here, and I don't know how much longer I can hold them off!"

"Ace isn't _in_ L.A. Diana!" J'onn cut-in, "He's 10000 feet above it!"

--

GOTC: Not too smart are ya?

Ace: This is_ your story…_

_GOTC: And love it I do. Don't forget to R&R!!_


	4. Crumbling Reality

G.O.T.C.: Ladies and gentlemen, I am truly sorry for the long wait…Life has been hellish this month with my uncle now in the hospital with a ruptured gall bladder. I have spent July in a freakin airport… Regardless, Angel of Darkness, I do truly appreciate your kind word in such a difficult time. Your review was uplifting, so this chappie gets dedicated to you! Now If I could only get more people to review, life would be good. But let's move on shall we?

Squeaky: Squeak! (JLDC, AceG.O.T.C.)

G.O.T.C.: Well put my diminutive Shamu… On to the fic!

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_Rise of the Guardians: Forbidden Memories_

CHAPTER 3: Crumbling Reality__

"_Ok….Not one of my better ideas…_" Ace thought to himself as he plummeted through the clouds.

He didn't have the experience with the teleporter that the rest of the League had, so his mistake came as no great surprise. An annoyance maybe, but certainly not as a surprise. Still, a part of him was at ease again being back on Earth, or at least closer to it. Of course that still didn't solve his problem of how he was going to stop himself from leaving a crater in downtown L.A.

"_Listening to us before you ran off like that might have helped." _He heard Batman's voice echo inside of his head.

"_You psychic too?" _Ace thought back at the Dark Knight

"_J'onn's linked the League telepathically,_" Batman explained, "_It's faster than using the com-links." _

"_And a lot less private," _He snorted. The outline of the city below reminded him that he was still falling through the air like the proverbial stone. _"Look, I'm busy right now. So can we continue this later?"_

"_Fine. Diana's already on her way to intercept you, And Flash, J'onn and myself are on our way to help."_

"NO!" Ace yelled out loud, hoping that it sounded just as loud in his head, _"Stay out of this! It's not your problem!"_

"_Diana and Superman are both in the middle of this as we speak, not to mention the hundreds of civilians that are being attacked by who-knows-what! This _is_ our problem!"_

"_You stubborn idiot-" _Ace started, before a black streak boiled up from the air beneath him and clipped his side, sending him spinning in the air.

Ace gritted his teeth in pain, as he heard his attacker screech in anger above him. Two membranous wings blotted out the sun for a moment, as the thing circled around for another strike. Ace clamped both arms tight to the side of his body, and felt the air around him rush by even faster, making his eyes water and burn. He could still see the city growing closer below him, but now he could make out a growing black spot, shifting in the city streets. It took a moment for him to make out the mass of creatures billowing out of it, both into the air and onto the streets.

He pulled one arm away from his side just long enough to draw his sword from its sheath on his back, as he prepared to plunge into the writhing mass. Suddenly, something hit him from the side, grabbing him in a firm hold under his arms.

"Bit of an odd way to fly, don't you think?" Wonder Woman joked as she stopped Ace's descent.

The screech above them caught her attention, as she whirled around to see what it was. Drooling jaws filled with long razor-sharp teeth, met her eyes, followed by the beast's long thin neck, and huge black wings.

"What in Hera's name…" She gasped at the monster as it charged them.

"Throw me!" Ace yelled at her.

"Are you insane!" Wonder Woman yelled as she turned to flee the creature. Holding Ace , there was no way she could fight back.

"That wasn't a request!" Ace shouted, craning his head around to get a better look at her, "Throw me, NOW!"

The monster was now close enough, Wonder Woman could almost feel the heat of it's rancid breath on her neck. Spinning in mid air, she grabbed hold of Ace by one arm, and hurled him directly at the creature. Ace and the monster collided in a chaotic mass of teeth and wings, as Ace struggled to get on the thing's back while it snapped dangerously close to his face. Now, with both hands free, Wonder Woman flew at the monster to help Ace, when another one caught her from behind. It was strong, and it took both her hands to keep the beast at bay. Suddenly, the creature gagged once, then fell limp and plummeted to the ground.

"Need help?" Ace called with a triumphant grin and standing on top of one of the howling avians.

"What are these things?" Wonder Woman called back, as Ace dispatched the beast, and landed on a roof top.

"Hardly important at the moment don't cha think?" Ace grunted as his blade cut cleanly through another that had found them on the roof.

Wonder Woman held nothing back as her fist connected with one, bringing it crashing down, then lassoed another and slammed two together in mid air. She looked for Ace, who had taken a flying leap off of the roof, and onto several awnings below. His feet had no sooner touched the ground, and the monsters seemed to stop in their tracks for a brief moment as Ace approached.

They never stopped snarling, snapping, and lashing out, but Wonder Woman wasn't entirely sure some of the monsters weren't taking a step back for each step Ace advanced. Suddenly, Ace broke the stand-off as he charged the group of monsters. Wonder Woman could hardly believe her eyes, as the horde split in two directions: One that charged toward Ace, and one that ran _from him._

Ace clashed head-on with them, sword flying in a wheeling pattern of lesser and greater circles. Demon after demon fell and crumpled to the ground as they met with a swift demise. But even though they were dropping by the dozens, Ace was slowly being overrun. Wonder Woman flew at a group charging Ace's back, plowing through the entire rank.

"Remind me never to get on your bad side," Ace said sparing a moment in between swipes.

"Look who's talking," Flash's voice cut in, smashing through another group trying to flank them, "Ladies and Gentleman, please keep all fingers and toes away from Ace- Whoa!"

Flash sidestepped just in time, as one of the monsters lunged at him with a barbed tail. Ace came down on the beast, hacking off the tail in a single downward slash, before looping the blade back and slicing cleanly through its body. Flash stepped behind Ace, and raised an impressed eyebrow, before turning to Wonder Woman.

"I rest my case," Flash said sticking a thumb in Ace's direction.

Wonder Woman rolled her eyes, just before a clawed fist shoved both heroes out of the way. It lunged at Ace with a snarl, catching him hard in the back and sinking its jaws into the thick part of his shoulder. Ace screamed in pain, as he tried to shake the beast free, but a black batarang caught in in the head and detonated with a small explosion. The thing dropped with a scream, and fell to the ground in a heap. Batman and J'onn stood at Ace's side as he kneaded his bleeding shoulder.

"I had it under control," He panted not looking at the Dark Knight.

"There're after you," Batman said quickly assessing the regrouping monsters, "They don't even spare anyone else a second glance."

"Oh?" Wonder Woman Said getting to her feet, "Then why were they attacking innocent people?"

"To draw out their target," J'onn said leveling a clear glance at Ace.

"I'll give em' a target," Ace growled, a as crackling blue aura surrounded both arms, "Hold on to something."

Flash looked uncertainly at Ace as he gripped his blade and, charged the horde one more time. The aura increased the closer Ace drew to the group. He looked as if he would smash right into them, but stopped just shy of the front line, and planted his sword right at their feet. A sudden discharge radiated from the blade, sweeping out in a massive gust of wind and energy.

Flash ran hard into the wind to keep from being blown back, while J'onn's intangible form let the force of the blast sweep right through him. But Batman was struggling to hold his ground, and a redoubled gust finally blew him back off his feet. Wonder Woman reached out and took a firm hold of his arm as he blew past.

The monsters howled with an otherworldly screech, as the blast tore through their ranks with a particular ferocity. For a brief moment, their cries filled the air, before the front line began to crumble away to black dust and swept away on the gust. It didn't take long for the force to work it's way through the rest of the horde, quickly reducing each and every demon in sight to a fine black powder. Ace was kneeled in front of his sword, his head resting wearily on the pommel from the aftermath of the blast.

Wonder Woman let go of Batman's arm, and Flash and J'onn came up beside them, unsure of what had just taken place in front of them. But before any of them could ask a question, a clawed hand wrapped itself around Wonder Woman's waist and pulled her off of the ground.

The hand belonged to a giant demon, standing seven feet tall with a needle waist and horned head. It's broad shoulders gave rise to two thin arms that ended in hands that seemed to consist of claws more than anything. And from it's head shone two blood red eyes that scanned the group greedily.

"_Heh heh heh…. It's been so long since I had a good meal…" _It laughed in a low, snarling voice, "_And you just look so delicious…."_

Batman's foot connected squarely with the creature's chest, knocking it backwards and Wonder Woman out of its grip. It howled in anger at being interrupted and lunged at Batman with murder in its fiery eyes. It lunged at them again, slashing with both claws, when a black sword burst through its gut. The creature screeched in pain, as it clawed at the blade in its stomach.

"_Tecatsu?! This blade belongs to the Guardian!"_ It snarled, looking over its shoulder at Ace who twisted the blade further in.

"The Barrier has been sealed demon," Ace growled menacingly, "Why do you linger in this realm?"

"_I did not come to this realm of my own accord Guardian,_" It chuckled, as if Ace had asked an obvious question, "_I was summoned here to fulfill a task."_

"What. Task?" Ace snarled, twisting the blade with each word to emphasize his point, "Who summoned you?

"_One of the Fallen," _It said, "_I was brought here to deliver a message, but no one told me I couldn't enjoy a snack!"_

It leapt forward again, despite the sword through its middle, reaching for the League and snapping its jaws. Ace ripped his sword free, and brought it down on the creature's arm in a flourish. It howled as it fell to its knees, clutching its bloody stump. The tip of Ace's blade came to rest just at the nape of it's neck, and pressed into its flesh.

"Move," Ace growled, "And your head rolls. What message?"

"_By the light of the full moon, the Barrier of the Guardians will crumble after it's eternal vigil. The path from the Shadow will once again be free, and the Dark Lord will return to his throne in the Realm of Light," _The demon growled back at Ace with a triumphant sneer, "_What's wrong Guardian? Is that fear in your eyes?"_

Ace tightened the grip on his blade to keep his hand from shaking, and swiped its edge through the monster's neck. The severed head hit the ground with a soft thump, but it didn't stop the demon's ghastly laugh.

"_Deny it all you want Guardian….But this time, one man will not stand in our way….heh heh hehe…"_

_Ace couldn't stop staring at the head even after it had dissolved to ash, and a drop of blood fell into the pile from Ace's clenched fist._

_--_

_G.O.T.C.: At last. It is finished. Lots to do, but don't forget to R&R!!_


	5. A War Revived

_GOTC: Annnnnnnd…..Back in an airport. I really need to sign up for frequent flier miles or something, cause this is getting to be a real pain in the a-_

_Ace: pokes head out of carry-on Rating._

_GOTC: Mrumble, grumble….Fine. At least it gives me time to write, so whatever. I just wish this guy next to me would stop looking over at my laptop like he's some secret agent gathering vital intel on me or something. Pokes Ace You. Do something._

_Ace: Why should I? You're the one who stuffed me into this tiny little bag, and drug me on this flying metal matchbox!_

_GOTC: I'm also the one who feeds you._

_Ace: And you make an excellent point. Attacks creepy old man_

_GOTC: 0.o Pretty sure a spine shouldn't bend that way. Oh well, while Ace earns his keep, let's do the disclaimer shall we? SQUEAKY!!_

_Squeaky: Squeak! (Wow….Being in a plane makes Ace really cranky….Well, more so than usual. No League ownage here. Ace is still a puppet.)_

_GOTC: Ahhhh. So true. Ok, time for fanfiction is now! Enjoy!!_

_--_

_Rise of the Guardian 2: Forbidden Memories_

CHAPTER 4: A War Revived

The city was still in a state of shock from its recent ordeal. The attack hadn't lasted very long, but it was more than enough time for them to cause some serious damage. The sound of blaring sirens pierced the air all around the League, as emergency vehicles rushed to and fro. A disintegrating pile of ash still remained at their feet where the body of only one of many demons had lain just moments before, but it's ghastly voice still rang clear in their minds.

"_By the light of the full moon, the Barrier of the Guardians will crumble after it's eternal vigil. The path from the Shadow will once again be free, and the Dark Lord will return to his throne in the Realm of Light…" _

A sudden shriek of twisting metal caught the League's attention, as Ace buried his fist in a nearby lightpost. He struck it again, this time buckling the length of the post, before Wonder Woman caught his fist, raised to strike it again.

"_Let. Me. Go. Princess."_ He growled at her dangerously, when she wouldn't release her hold on him.

"Not until you tell us what just happened, and what in Hades those monsters were." She said, tightening her grip to make her point.

"I've told you before: This isn't your problem." Ace said meeting her glare.

"And what about this," She said waving her free hand at the destruction around them, "Isn't our problem."

"Because your job is to protect this planet from everything in the known universe," Ace said evenly, trying to hold back his temper.

Wonder Woman narrowed her eyes, but let go of Ace's hand an folded her arms across her chest, as the others came to stand next to her.

"So what does that make you job?" Batman put in, "What is it _you_ do that makes you so much more qualified to handle this than us?"

"Because," Ace said sliding his blade back into its sheath, "My job, is to protect this planet from everything it has _forgotten._"

There was a tense moment of silence, while the two sides stared at each other, divided by only a broken lamp post.

"Whoa…Wait," Flash said as Ace's words sank in, "You mean…this sort of thing has happened before?"

"Remember that story I was telling you in the Monitor Womb?" Ace said glancing at the Scarlet Speedster, "It was a little more than a story."

"I felt a psychic connection with them before they disappeared," J'onn said quietly, "Their hatred was very potent, but they knew this place….This realm, they called it."

A roar above them broke the mounting tension, as Superman and the rest of the League circled above them for a moment, before landing next to the group.

"I take it there were a few problems here too," Superman said surveying the damage.

"Putting it lightly, but sure," Flash shrugged, "Problems works."

"Superman called Hawkgirl and I to assist him, when these demons showed up in Washington," Lantern clarified, "But to be honest, I didn't think we were going to make it, until a few of your friends showed up Ace."

"My friends?" Ace said snapping out of his glare fight with Wonder Woman.

A resounding roar above them caught his attention, as the familiar silhouette of Kyadreon glided into view, followed closely by six similar ones.

"No way…" Ace said in a hushed voice as a smile began to spread across his face.

The seven dragons came to land in a nearby park, shaking out and folding their massive wings after the flight. Their teeth and jaws were stained with black blood, and they boasted several wounds of their own as a testament to their fighting. Their colors varied greatly from Kyadreon's gold and ebony pattern. The largest of the newcomers was a brilliant scarlet with patched of black on his face and hide, while the smaller one next to him was a pale olive. A translucent beauty, an a bold brown dragon stood off by themselves looking eachother over, while two playful dragons of black and silver romped in the grass. Their markings were unique from the rest of the group, since not only did they both have the same two colors, but where one had silver, the other was black, and vice versa, like two halves of a scaly yin-yang symbol.

No sooner did the League come into view, did the two playful dragons look up, and charge Ace at full-speed, knocking him to the ground. Ace flailed helplessly, as the two dragons licked every inch of him they could reach, sniffing him thourghly and letting out small roars of obvious excitement.

"KOTOME!! KOTEKE!" Ace spluttered from underneath the pile, "Get off me you waste of scales!!"

The two dragons sheepishly backed off of Ace, at last letting him get back to his feet and brush himself off.

"You two sorry excuses for flying lizards…" Ace grumbled angrily, before letting a huge smile erupt on his face, "Do you have any idea how much I've missed you?"

The two dragons charged him again, but this time let Ace wrap his arms around both their long necks. The rest of the dragons watched the display with obvious humor, and approached Ace as he let go.

"Roac," He said with a curt bow to the scarlet dragon, "What brings you to the mainland?"

"**Those accursed Shadows,**" The dragon responded straightening himself, "**Their foul scent travels far on the winds these days. We thought you could use a hand in dealing with them, when we ran into these three. I must admit, I was surprised to learn that you and Kyadreon were flying with a new clan.**"

"Not quite the way I'd put it," Ace said patting the dragon's massive shoulder, "But close enough to the truth I suppose."

"Ok," Hawkgirl said putting her hands up, "You lost me. You guys actually _know_ each other?"

"Well think about it," Flash said, "I mean, how many other guys do we know that know dragons?"

"Good point."

"Sorry," Ace apologized, "These guys are….Well, my family."

"You're joking." Superman said unfolding his arms in disbelief.

"Nope. I had a…rough spot in my childhood, and these guys took me in," Ace said looping an arm around Roac's neck, "Allow me to introduce you."

Ace took a step back so he could look at them all.. He pointed to each one in turn as he introduced the group.

"This is Roac, the green one is his brother, Judiac." Ace said, as each dragon did what could only be taken for a bow, "The brown one is Sparhawk, and his mate Talis, And of course there's the twins, Kotome and Koteke."

"A pleasure," Wonder Woman said with a slight bow.

"Ok," Flash said waving his hands in front of him, "I'm already reeling from the fact there were just hundreds of monsters crawling through the streets of downtown L.A. Now you're trying to tell me that you were raised by dragons?! Wait…never mind. That would actually make sense."

"But what doesn't make sense," Batman cut in, "Is how both you and your…family, know about these monsters."

"**You haven't told them yet?**" Roac said in surprise, looking at Ace.

"I had hoped I'd never have to," Ace sighed.

"We do a lot of things we hope we'd never have to," Batman said narrowing his eyes.

"Yeah, well this is probably a little more…" Ace paused searching for the word.

"Difficult?"

"Ha," Ace chuckled bitterly, "If it were just "difficult", my life wouldn't be the bad soap opera that it is."

Ace pulled back his shirt a little, and grabbed a hold of a thin silver chain that hung around his neck, and pulled out a shining pendant from his shirt.

"I'm guessing none of you know what this is?" He said letting the Pendant dangle from his hand, "Good. The last person to see one died about 5000 years ago. This is a Crest of the Guardians, one of seven that used to exist. Each crest contained the soul of one of the Seven Spirits of Light."

"Is it just me," Lantern mumbled to J'onn, "Or does this just sound like the plotline for a bad video game?"

"**Show some respect human!**" Roac snapped at him, baring his razor sharp, bloodstained teeth.

"Wait, those spirits…They aren't the same ones from that story earlier are they?" Flash asked.

"The same," Ace nodded, "Danek the Strong, Jarten the Quick, Latsu the Clever, Reysena the Bold, Tenai the Kind, Semato the Silent, and Kyron the Healer."

"What are you talking about Flash?" Superman asked

"This story he was telling me while we were on monitor duty," Flash said, scratching his head, "Something about how there were these two powers on Earth. One wanted more power, and made an army, the other turned into those seven spirit guys and beat 'em back. There was more though. The light guys didn't exactly finish the job, and the army kinda came back, but they realized they needed a leader."

"A rough but accurate grasp of the concept," Ace nodded, "The army he speaks of was made up of hundreds of thousands of those demons that attacked today. Shadows. The Seven Spirits did drive them back once, but as they regrouped, they gave rise to a demon that had complete and total control over their dominion. Mankind called this new creation: Sharrackor. In Atlantean, his name meant Black Dawn, since whenever he appeared, the sun rose black in the sky."

Ace stopped for a moment and unconsciously rubbed his right shoulder.

"And unlike the army of weak demons, Sharrackor was more than a match for the Spirits," Ace said, "He turned the tide on a battle that should have been over. With him commanding the hordes of Shadow, the monsters swept across the land, decimating any resistance that dared to oppose them. So, the Spirits turned to a last resort. They pooled their energies together, and created a great barrier that banished Sharrackor and his armies from this realm, and sealed them within their own. Of course, such a feat came with a heavy price."

"The Spirits were forced to sacrifice their corporal bodies, and seal their very souls into seven crests, which were given to mankind to protect and use should the Shadows ever find their way back to this realm," Ace finished, "These men were called Guardians."

Only the sound of the dragon's breathing rustled lightly through the group, as Ace finished his tale. There was no trace of humor in his face or voice. Even Flash remained uncharacteristically silent throughout the story.

"You said their were seven of these crests," J'onn said at last, " You have one, but where are the other six?"

"Good question," Ace sighed, "But even I don't know that. After the Sprirts sealed themselves away, the Barrier slowly began to deteriorate."

"Doesn't that just defeat the whole purpose of their sacrifice?" Wonder Woman asked astonished.

"In a way, yes," Ace agreed, "But the Barrier was made better than that. Instead of drawing it's energy from the Spirits, it takes it from every living being on Earth. And in times of crisis, it draws on the lifeforce of the Guardians to sustain itself."

"So….You're a battery?" Flash surmised.

"I guess you could call it that," Ace chuckled lightly.

"You still didn't answer the question," Batman reminded Ace.

Ace didn't quite face the Dark Knight, but shot him a sidelong glance in irritation.

"The Guardians weren't like your average human," Ace continued, "They were stronger, faster, and far more sensitive to the world around them thanks to the crests around their necks. They lived longer, remaining in their prime until the day when the crest chose its next Guardian. This cycle continued for five generations, before the lust for power finally overcame the Guardians of the Sixth Order. Six of the seven Guardians became corrupt with a hunger for power and a lust for wealth. The Spirits of the crest and those of the Guardians are closely interwoven, so when one falls prey to desire, the other follows. The crests became tainted, and the Guardians fought one another in an attempt to rob their comrades of their crest. In their struggle, they fell, and killed one another, leaving only my master in this world."

"And the crest passed to you," Batman said putting the story together, "But that doesn't explain how these Shadows are appearing all over the world if this great barrier should be holding them at bay."

"Because it's coming apart at the seams," Ace sighed, sitting down on a curb, "The Barrier is weakening at an enormous rate, and it's opening small holes between realms all over the planet rather than a huge one in one place."

"Why?" Flash asked, "If these things were in one place they'd be easier to take care of than us have to run all over the world to get rid of them."

"The Barrier doesn't work like that," Ace shook his head, "And they aren't really holes, more like rifts in the energy that holds the Barrier together. For instance, picture a screen door. It has a bunch of really tiny holes in it that keep the majority of the bugs out, but every now and again, a few small ones will squeeze through."

"In other words, it's opening all of these smaller holes and letting weaker monsters through, while keeping the stronger ones at bay on the other side?" Superman asked.

"Exactly," Ace said, "It's redistributing it's remaining energy."

"But then why doesn't it have enough to keep going if it's been working all this time?" Lantern asked, "I thought you said it draws it's power from every living being on the planet?"

"Normally it does," Ace agreed, "But when power is being drawn _from _the Barrier, taking that kind of energy from the planet would be catastrophic. So it's had to resort to other methods to sustain itself."

Batman's brow furrowed for a moment, as Ace's episode in the training room came back to him in full force.

"You mean like resorting to its "back-up batteries"?" Batman said accusingly as the picture came together.

"Unfortunately, yes," Ace admitted, "The Barrier's been feeding off of my energy for several weeks now."

"So you knew this was happening," Batman glared.

"Not like this," Ace defended, "Since the damn thing was created, some crackpot magician, or wizard has tried to break through the Barrier. Sometimes they succeed…., but usually the Barrier seals again before any one even notices."

"So because six of the seven Guardians are….gone," Hawkgirl said trying to find the right words, "The Barrier doesn't have enough energy to keep going?"

"I was hoping that the problem would resolve itself," Ace said rubbing his face hard with both hands, "But instead, it's just gotten much worse, as you heard."

Ace made a halfhearted wave at the pile of ashes, that was by now almost gone.

"That thing said it was sent," Batman recalled, "Sent by one of the Fallen if I'm not mistaken. Any ideas on who that could be?"

"Only one," Ace sighed, running a hand through his hair, "And it's an old friend."

"Argon." Wonder Woman growled

"Why'd that monster thing call him 'one of the Fallen' then?" Flash asked, puzzled.

"Because," Ace said, fighting with himself to come to terms with the obvious reality of the situation, "He's found the crest of one of the fallen Guardians. That's why this is out of your league, and I need you all to just stay clear for a while ok?"

"So you're going to take on a whole army of blood thirsty monsters alone?" Lantern asked almost with a laugh.

"Trust me," Ace growled darkly, "I don't need your help."

Suddenly, Superman put his hand to his ear, as his com-link buzzed to life.

"Aquaman? What happened?….What? When?!" Superman said as the voice on the other side explained the situation, "Alright, we're on our way."

"There's been a robbery in Atlantis," Superman said turning to the rest of the League, "It happened a while ago, and they were never able to determoine exactly what was stolen, but they said that there's some new evidence, and Aquaman needs our help."

"Coincidence?" Wonder Woman grinned at Ace, "Face it, whether you like it or not, you _do need our help."_

_The rest of the League turned to head for the Javelin, leaving ace to look after them from his seat on the curb. He slowly got to his feet, and looked up at the sky above him, before heading after the retreating group._

"_For now, maybe," Ace said to himself, "For now."_

_--_

_GOTC: Aaaaaand…..CUT! Nice work people!! Now we're going to need to head back to the airport for the next scene-_

_Ace: NO! I was in that airport security room for three days!!_

_GOTC: Well, how was I supposed to know the guy was an air marshal? Anyway, R&R while I get ready to drug Ace for the next chapter! Later all!!_


	6. Path to the Past

_GOTC: Dear…..God…..stares into distance_

_Ace: rolls over and looks at clock It is now 3:30 am. She just got back from the opening night showing of "The Dark Knight". She'll be in this coma thing for a few hours now….._

_GOTC:………_

_Ace: Don't ask me how she's writing. I don't know, nor do I want to take a tour of her so-called mind to find out. I will however keep her rear from being sued. Squeaky!_

_Squeaky: Squeak. (……..Best…..Movie…..Ever…..)_

_Ace: Shoot. Forgot you went with her. Fine. GOTC has nothing to do with the League, but I will forever be stuck in this horrible prison of sleeplessness……….What? On with you all, read!_

_--_

_Rise of the Guardian 2: Forbidden Memories_

CHAPTER 5: Path to the Past

"Who's idea was it to travel in a metal tube?" Ace grumbled as he looked out the window at the ever-darkening sea rush by, "This Fishman, or whatever you called him had better have a good reason for this."

He wished he'd been able to ride one of the dragons, but not only would they not be able to dive to such depths, but they were off on a task of their own at the moment.

"It's Aquaman," Wonder Woman said, breaking into Ace's thoughts, "And you do well to show the King of Atlantis a little more respect."

"I'll try to keep that in mind," Ace scoffed, rolling his eyes.

"What's the matter Ace?" Flash teased, swivling around in his seat to face him, "You a little claustrophobic? Hmmmmm?"

Ace glanced back over his shoulder at the Speedster with an icy glare.

"Your stuck 2,000 feet beneath sea level with no way out," Ace said with an uneasy smile, "You think this is the best time to find out?"

Flash's smile fell off of his face, as he retreated back to his corner of the Javelin, and Ace went back to watching the window, his eyes watching something far off. Silence remained for a few minutes, with only the steady drone of the ship's engine holding back its crushing weight.

"So Ace," Hawkgirl said, after a while, "What was Atlantis like before it sank?"

"Couldn't tell ya," Ace replied without even looking away, "Never been in my life."

"The Atlantean's never been to Atlantis?" Flash gaped.

"Sorry," Ace shrugged with growing irritation, "But maybe Superman can entertain you with tales about Krypton."

Ace shut his eyes for a moment and took a deep breath to calm himself down. That comment had been way out of line, and he knew better, and should have better control over his emotions.

"Sorry Superman," Ace doubled back, "I didn't mean it like that. I wasn't born on the actual mainland. In fact, it had sunk about a thousand years before I was even born. I was born and raised on a small island in the Atlantean Archipelago called Matesunea. My mother was a survivor from the battle that sunk the continent in the first place."

"Battle?" Lantern said perplexed, "I thought Atlantis was sunk by some great cataclysm."

"Of course it was," Ace said nonchalantly, "Two Guardians trying to kill each other would defiantly be considered a cataclysm. Grand canyon was made the same way."

"You're joking."

"Am I laughing?" Ace asked with a raised eyebrow.

He turned his head back to the window for the second time, craning his neck around to get possibly get a better look of the sea floor. As he did it, Batman spied the forgotten bite wound on his neck.

"You're hurt," he said walking over to inspect it.

"Hmm? Oh this?" Ace said easily, "It's not a big deal. Give it some time; it'll heal.".

"It looks deep Ace," Batman said reaching for something in his utility belt

Ace rolled his eyes, and spotted a long slice running across Batman's arm. It had cleanly sliced though the tough Kevlar of his suit, which was probably the only reason it wasn't any worse than a nasty looking cut.

"Looks like I wasn't the only one who didn't get away unscathed," Ace said with mild humor in his voice, grabbing Batman's arm to get a better look, "I need you to sit down."

"What for?" Batman asked suspiciously.

"To fix your arm," Ace said as if the answer was obvious, "The cut itself isn't that bad, but it'll leave a scar if it's not fixed soon. Wounds from the Shadows always leave scars."

Batman glance at Ace as the last sentence left his mouth. There was a different tone to it that broke through the calculating voice he was trying to maintain. Ace took deep breath, as he finished looking the wound over.

"It must have happened when that thing lunged at us after attacking Diana," Batman said more for himself than anyone.

"I'm going to need you to relax," Ace said not taking his eyes off of the cut.

"Bats? Relax?" Flash scoffed, earning him a quick glare.

"What for?" Batman asked, looking back at Ace.

"Please?" Ace sighed exsasparedly.

Batman held his suspicious gaze for a moment longer, before he closed his eyes and took a deep breath and blew it out slowly. A sudden tingle ran through his arm, making his whole body feel jittery. He looked at Ace, to see him with his eyes closed in concentration, and his hand running slowly over the wound. He could see the light blue tinge of energy around Ace's hand, and could feel it dance along his skin, as it passed over his arm.

It only took a moment for Ace to let go, and Batman took a look at his handiwork. The skin on his arm ran smooth and unbroken, without so much as even a faint scar as a testament to the wound that had been there moments before. Only the Kevlar of his suit remained slit.

"You'll have to fix the suit yourself," Ace said sitting back in his chair with a chuckle, "I was never very good with a needle."

"How did you do that?" Wonder Woman asked after Ace let go, looking at Batman's arm.

"You learn a few things being a Guardian," Ace shrugged, "The job does have it's perks sometimes."

A bright glow from outside caught Ace's attention, as the Javelin approached a giant illuminated dome. He could see the telltale buildings of Atlantean architecture, and a sprawling cityscape crafted more like a work of art than for habitation. The Javelin's speed slowed to a crawl, as they approached the city's entrance and came into land. Ace could see people outside watching them with expressions of awe and wonder. The rest of the League got up to exit the Javelin, Ace lingered behind for a brief moment, before following suit. A man with long blond hair greeted them warmly as the League exited the jet.

"Thank you for coming on such shot notice," He said shaking hands with Superman. Ace caught a quick glimpse of metal, and noticed the man was missing a hand.

"Not at all Aquaman," Superman smiled, "You said there was some kind of robbery down here?"

"I'd rather we didn't discuss the matter here," Aquaman said making a small motion to the crowd that had gathered, "Much of the public has no idea that there was a breach in our security."

"And they think the Justice League showing up is for the annual hero barbeque?" Ace snorted sarcastically.

Aquaman turned to look at Ace, with a look of obvious distaste, although he kept his kingly demeanor fully intact.

"I'm sorry," Aquaman said to Ace, "I don't believe we've met."

"Ace is one of the newest members to join the League," Superman said quickly trying to diffuse the situation.

"I see," Aquaman said eyeing Ace one more time, "Then I welcome you to our fair city of Atlantis. Shall e proceed? We can discuss details at the palace with more privacy."

Ace silently fell into line with the small procession, watching every soul around him with careful consideration. His eyes were constantly scanning the entirety of the sunken utopia, taking in its every detail. However, the closer the group drew to the palace, the more upset Ace seemed to be, though he never said a word.

When at last the group reached the safety of the palace, the doors were shut tight behind them. The king sank wearily into his throne, finally letting his carefully crafted mask fall, and his exhaustion show through.

"I'm sorry I've had to call you all here on such an occasion," Aquaman sighed, "But I'm afraid that we have exhausted all possibilities of who this thief could be. We've scoured the city from top to bottom, kept extra watches in case the intruder should return, and still we come up empty. Nothing reported stolen, nothing missing. My men still aren't even sure how this person made it into the city."

"Nothing?" Hawkgirl mused, "Scouting out the city's defenses maybe?"

"A possibility, but highly unlikely," J'onn said, "Avoiding being spotted would have had to been first priority, to keep the city from thinking they were the possible targets of an attack and fortifying themselves."

"Does Atlantis have any enemies that would be interested in that kind of knowledge?" Superman asked

"Not outside of the archeological community," Aquaman scoffed, "Bet the reason we deny them such access to our city is to prevent that very knowledge from falling into the wrong hands."

"Are you sure that this 'intruder' wasn't one of your own?" Batman asked

"Positive," Aquaman nodded, "My men saw him _jump _the city's forty foot outer wall in a single bound. No Atlantean can do that."

"I beg to differ…" Ace mumbled under his breath, as he picked at the whitewashed walls.

"Excuse me?" Aquaman said getting to his feet and glaring at Ace, "You seemed to be far more interested in the walls of my palace than you do in this case."

"You know," Ace said continuing to pick at the walls, "It really is a funny thing about walls. Back when I was younger, our king's palace had magnificent drawings all over its walls. They told stories of the past, prophecies, even kept important records. I was under the impression that the Atlanteans did the same thing."

"That's nonsense," Aquaman huffed, "These walls have been white for generations. There's never been so much as a blemish on them. "

Ace didn't respond right away, as a piece of the plaster came away in his hand. He peered at the hole, completely ignoring Aquaman's horrified look for the damage Ace had so callously caused. After a moment, however, a small grin spread across Ace's face as he stood straight up, and placed an open palm over the hole.

"Never a blemish huh?" Ace scoffed, as he sent a sudden wave ripping through the wall's surface. The plaster bowed outward, with the force of the wave. It crumbled the entire height of the wall, dropping large pieces of plaster that hadn't been vaporized from the initial shock.

Underneath, silvery writing in elegant curls twisted themselves all over the wall's surface in an intricate tapestry, interwoven through vibrant murals that stretched back underneath the plaster that still clung to the wall. Ace ran his hand lightly over the runes, tracing a few with his fingers, as the rest of the League and Aquaman came to look at the exposed art.

"What is all of this?" Aquaman gaped, taking in the mural before him.

"Weren't you listening before?" Ace said shortly, "The entire history of Atlantis is etched in these walls. Reigns of its kings, victories of war, meetings with other countries of the world-"

Ace stopped short as he came to the edge pf the exposed wall. He cocked his head slightly to read the runes a little better, before he began pulling hastily at the plaster with his hands. Now that there was something to hold onto, the plaster came away easily, and before long, Ace had uncovered another part of the mural. Seven decorated warriors knelt at the feet of a depicted king, their leader holding a large, pale green crystal in his outstretched hand. Ace scanned the scene quickly, and took a step back in shock.

"What is it?" Superman asked.

"This is depicting a meeting with the first Guardians and the king of Atlantis," Ace breathed, "It talks about hiding a stone called the Aelollora."

"The Aeyo-what now?" Flash asked, butchering the name.

"The Aeollora stone," Ace repeated, "It was a powerful crystal the Spirits used to pool and channel their energies in order to create the barrier. This mural looks like the First Guardians were asking the King if Atlantis to hide the stone here."

"It looks like there's a crack running through the middle of the picture…" Superman said blinking once to refocus his eyes, "Do you think this could be a door?"

"No handle," Lantern pointed out.

"Who say you need a handle?" Hawkgirl said tapping her mace lightly in her hand.

"No," Ace said, lightly brushing his hand over the image of the crystal, "I don't think that will be necessary."

The stone instantly dropped back into the wall, and a great grinding noise could be heard on the other side of the wall, as the painting split right down the middle and slid back revealing a cold, dark tunnel leading into the bowls of the palace.

"Great," Flash mumbled, "I was hoping to get to go down a creepy tunnel today…Uh, Ace? What are you doing?"

"Following this passage," Ace said, climbing into the opening, "There's too much of a coincidence between the recent intruder and the discovery of this passage."

"I agree," Batman said following closely behind, "If we're going to find any clues, our best bet is going to be down this tunnel."

--

GOTC: Yawn.

Ace: Oh good. There's still some sign of life.

GOTC: Whatever….I'm going to bed. Don't forget to R&R everyone…..zzzzzzzzzzz


	7. Royal Secrets

_GOTC: BACK DEMONS!! GET BACK!! RETUN TO THE PIT FROM WHENCE YOU CAME!!_

_Ace: And we join our loveable (snigger) authoress as she attempts to wrangle five young children during a festival parade._

_GOTC: GAHHH!! THAT DOES NOT BELONG IN YOUR MOUTH!!_

_Ace: And I must say, I'm quite thoroughly enjoying mehself. _

_GOTC: YOU COULD BE HELPING YOU KNOW!!_

_Ace: No thanks. I'll take the Shadows over small children any day. _

_Squeaky: Squeak. (Amen to that.)_

_GOTC: WHY YOU BAS- NOT ON THE PONY!!_

_Ace: Ahhhh…. Like music to my ears. Take it away Squeaks._

_Squeaky: Squeak. (Beware of small children while reading this fic.)_

_Ace: Close enough. Have fun!_

_--_

_Rise of the Guardian 2: Forbidden Memories_

CHAPTER 6: Royal Secrets

It was a tight squeeze through the dark passageway, which occasionally forced the group to sidestep through the slimmer sections. Rough stone walls snagged at clothing and any exposed skin. Every few seconds, the sound of metal could be heard clinking against the walls, as Aquaman's hooked hand brushed against stone.

"Are sure you know where you're going Ace?" Flash asked from somewhere in the darkness.

"No Flash," Ace retorted, feeling his way along "I think we should have made a left back at that solid stone wall."

"Just thought I'd ask."

"The path should start to get wider up ahead," Batman said.

"How do you know?" Lantern asked, "Night-vision lenses?"

"No," Batman replied, "The path's been getting wider the last hundred feet or so. It must lead into a larger cavern.

"Good to know that it at least goes _somewhere_," Hawkgirl said pulling her wings in a little closer to her body.

Ace stopped for a moment, as the texture of the wall abruptly changed underneath his hand. He ran his palm over the wall several times, feeling out hundreds of small flecks in the wall that felt like course sandpaper.

"Lantern," He said peering into the darkness, "How about some light?"

"Thought you'd never ask," Green Lantern said, squeezing past the group, and letting a bright beam illuminate the tunnel.

Immediately, the green light was reflected off of a thousand tiny crystal shards embedded in the walls of the tunnel, like a multitude of stars stretching out to infinity. Almost at once, the tight quarters seemed so much bigger, as the wall's definitions blended away with the stunning illusion.

"It's….Beautiful," Wonder Woman said lightly touching one of the tiny shards.

"Yeah…." Superman agreed, "That's one way to put it."

"These things may be beautiful," Lantern struggled, bracing his ring arm, "But whatever these thins are, they're sucking the power right out of my ring!"

"It's alright Lantern," Ace said pushing his arm away, "I think we'll be good for now anyway."

Lantern slowly dimmed the light from his ring, but the tiny crystals kept glowing with a soft and steady light. Their way now illuminated, the group picked up their pace slightly, as they continued through the tunnels again.

"I've lived in the palace my whole life," Aquaman shook his head, picking up a loose crystal, "And never had any idea these tunnels even existed!"

"Maybe if you left he palace every once and a while, you'd have been able to keep someone from breaking in…" Ace mumbled to himself, rolling his eyes as he pushed on.

"What was that?" Aquaman demanded, as Ace's comment fell on his ears, "How dare you judge the way I run _my _kingdom?!"

"I dare," Ace said over his shoulder, "Because here we are, thousands of leagues below the sea, in _your_ city, solving _your _problem."

"Knock it off," Batman said stepping between the two, "We have enough going on without arguing amongst ourselves."

The two didn't immediately break their stand-off, until at last, Aquaman brushed past Ace with an angry huff.

"Fine," the King growled, "But keep him away from me, or I'll string him out right now."

Aquaman turned his back, and kept walking further into the tunnel. The rest of the League slowly began to follow, glancing at Ace as they passed.

"Shouldn't we be following Ace?" Flash whispered to J'onn.

"There's only two ways we can go right now," came the martian's reply, "We move forward, or go back the way we came."

Ace waited until everyone had put a little distance between him, before he shoved his hands back into his pockets and stated walking again.

"What was that all about?" Batman said quietly as the two dropped to the back of the group.

"This place doesn't _belong_ to him," Ace said with obvious bitterness in his voice.

"He's Atlantean, the first born son of the Royal Family," Batman ticked off, "And a member of the League. What is it that doesn't make him fit to rule?"

"I never said he wasn't fit to rule," Ace said, "I said this place didn't belong to him."

"And what makes you come to that conclusion?"

"Do you think Atlanteans suddenly developed this amazing ability to breathe underwater the _very same day _the continent sank to the bottom of the sea? His people found the city, covered its past, and claimed it as their own." Ace snarled inches from Batman's unflinching face, "Outside of the dome that encircles this place, did you see the ruins of the old city? I did, the ruins of the _real _Atlantis lay dead and forgotten with time. He is no king of Atlantis, and this city is a hollow shadow of the kingdom it used to be."

"Hey you guys!" Flash called from up ahead, "You may want to come take a look at this!"

Ace took a deep breath to calm himself before turning away and following after the rest of the group. They all stood at the brink of an enormous cavern, its great expanse stretching hundreds of yards in all directions, while a pattern of interwoven grooves were etched deep into every surface. And on the far side of the cavern, a great staircase sprawled across the floor leading to a massive stone doorway carved with the same runes as the ones back in the throne room, guarded by two colossal stone giants adorned with the pattern that crossed the floor.

"What is this place?" J'onn asked in a hushed voice.

"The Crystal Temple of the Guardians," Ace said rejoining the group, "Behind those doors lies the Temple where the Aeollora stone has been hidden from the rest of humanity for thousands of years."

Ace took a single step into the cavern, and a light erupted from the place where his foot had met with thr stone of the floor. The light sped off in all directions, zig-zagging its way through the endless network of grooves in a dazzling spectacle, even running up to the stone giants as well. Ace hesitated for a brief moment, before he continued into the room, and up to the staircase.

"Sooooooooo….What?" Flash pondered, zipping up to the great doorway, "Is there some password, or a key-"

Without warning two enormous stone spears crashed in front of Flash, just as he reached out to touch the door. The giants had suddenly become animated, their crystal eyes glowing bright with the same light that filled the room, as they observed the new intruders. Flash pulled back to the rest of the group, as the giants spoke.

"_The door of the Eighth is sealed,"_ They both rumbled in a metallic unison, "_Only the Ruler of Atlantis may pass here."_

"I think they're talking to you," Flash said coming up behind Aquaman, "And tell your buddies there that I didn't know the door was off limits."

Aquaman scowled as he looked up at the two Giants, but pulled him self up as he strode over to the doors. But before he could even lay a hand on their surface, the butt of a spear slammed down a scarce few inches from his face.

"Stand aside for your king!" He bellowed up at the two giants.

"_Only the King of Atlantis shall pass."_ The Giants repeated, slamming their spears down a second time to make their intentions clear.

"I think the warranty on these guys has expired," Flash said pointing a lazy finger at the insistent obstacle.

"That's just great," Lantern huffed, "There's no other way in! We've come all this way just to hit a dead end!."

Ace watched all of this in complete silence, closed his eyes and lightly shook his head in defeat. Pausing for a moment to search his thoughts for another option, he took a deep breath, and walked up beside Aquaman. He stood tall and proud, the lines of fatigue disappearing from his face, as a different side of Ace came through.

"Stand aside," His command rang clear throughout the entire cavern.

"_Only the King of Atlantis shall pass."_

"Then you shall grant him passage, as he stands before you now," Ace called in response, "My name is Katonterranatu. I am the Guardian of the Great Spirit, Kyron the Healer, and the Seventh to bear his crest. I am a survivor of the attack on the Atlantean island of Matesuane, by the Dark Lord Sharrackor, a thousand years after the island of its fathers was claimed by the sea. I am born of true Atlantean blood, and _I am your king._"

Silence followed the echo of Ace's voice, as the realization of his words sank in. For a fleeting moment, the hardened fighter the League had come to know disappeared, and was replaced by the great king of noble blood that Ace had just claimed himself to be.

"Now," Ace spoke again to the giants, "Stand aside, and let us pass."

For an agonizingly long moment, nothing happened, but the a loud groaning sounded in the cavern, as the two great doors swung slowly inward, and the giants knelt before the entrance in respect.

"_The King may pass."_

Ace looked at both giants in turn, making sure neither finished as he took a step towards the door. Satisfied at last, the noble king vanished, as Ace crammed his hands back into his pockets.

"That's better." He huffed, starting to walk inside, "Well? Are you coming or not?"

"Are you going to explain what just happened?" Hawkgirl said stunned.

"And why those giants bowed to _you?_" Aquaman added.

"It's simple," Ace said, without even a glance back, "You may live in and rule Atlantis, but that does not make you its king."

Ace left him standing on the doorway's threshold, as the rest of the League caught up to him. Flash walked uneasily at his side, as Ace kept a steady focus on the path ahead of him.

"So, do we call you Katon now," Flash asked trying to break up the silence, "Or your highness maybe-"

Ace spun on his heal, and caught Flash with his arm and pinned him hard against the nearest wall. Ace's eyes burned with a mix of dangerous emotions, as he held the speedster several inches off of the ground.

"Listen to me, and listen well," Ace growled in a low tone, "I was Ace five minutes ago, and I am Ace now. The only thing that's changed is that you unfortunately got a glimpse into a life that I left behind a very long time ago. I am no different, and while this land should be my kingdom, believe me when I say this: I am no king."

--

GOTC: And the plot thickens again.

Ace: Yay, and now that you've thoroughly confused our readers with hard-to-pronounce names and junk, our small following is probably lost and cannot be found.

GOTC: Hmmm. Good point. So, for your reading aid, I give you: CONFUSING PRONUNCIATIONS!

1.Katonterranatu (kay-tahn-tear-ah-not-two)

2.Sharrackor ( sh-ar-ack-core)

3.Kyadreon (K-i-ay-dree-on)

4. Aeollora (Ay-oh-lore-a)

5. Matesuane (Mah-the-sue-ahn-eh)

And….that's all I got for now. Need more? Review, and I'll add 'em in the next post! See ya' then!


	8. Unwelcome Discoveries

GOTC: Sorry for the late post everyone. Lots of stuff going on in meh life at the moment, and I've had to prioritize things a little more than I would have liked.

Ace: And yet this still managed to come before doing your laundry?

GOTC: Duh. Anyway, let's get this moving now shall we? Squeaks?

Squeaky: Squeak! (Speaking of laundry, Ace, have you smelled your jacket lately?)

Ace: …………..

GOTC: Not what I had in mind but you all have the picture by now right? Good. On with the fic!

--

_Rise of the Guardian 2: Forbidden Memories_

CHAPTER 7: Unwelcome Discovery

It was hard to tell what Ace was thinking, simply by watching the back of his head, as he led the group through yet another dark tunnel. Flash for once was silent, and hanging out near the rear of the group, as far away from Ace as he cared to be. Batman, however, walked just a few steps behind the fuming Leaguer.

"So how are you enjoying the club?" Ace said suddenly glancing over his shoulder at Batman.

Batman quirked an eyebrow at the comment. It had seemed like an eternity since that conversation back in the rafters of Arkham…

"_Outside of and Atlantean, There are a grand total of three people who know my name. One's stranded on a desert island in the middle of the Pacific, one's a traitor, and the other is dead," _Ace's voice sounded in his head, _"Sound like a club you want to join?"_

Batman gave Ace a rare chuckle, as they proceeded through the massive hall.

"Usually there are servants ready to take my jacket at the clubs I attend," Batman smirked.

"That right?" Ace scoffed, pointing somewhere up ahead "Well, will those guys do?"

"What on Earth?!" Came the surprised exclamation behind them.

Batman followed Ace's gesture, and saw a multitude of gruesome creatures all staring down at them with empty red eyes. Batman's hand instantly went to his utility belt, before his eyes readjusted and saw none of them were moving. He walked up to one of the walls, and ran his hand along the enormous mural that covered the hall.

"They're paintings…" the Dark Knight said almost in disbelief.

It was hard to believe looking at them. The longer he stared, the more he could have sworn he'd see one move. Every detail had been brushed in with painstaking care to bring these demons to life in a new medium.

"They look so real…" Hawkgirl said holding up her now glowing mace to get a better look at the mural.

"Hey!" Lantern called from up ahead, "There's more to the picture up here!"

The group surged forward to look at Lantern's discovery, leaving Ace behind to catch up at his own pace. The scene further on, was no longer the dark mass of monsters and demons they had first encountered. Now, they were staring into a war-torn world, strewn with the bodies of humans and monsters alike. Two great armies were converging in a massive onslaught of flashing metal and razor claws and teeth. Both armies were massive in their own right, but as the mural progressed the armies of man were slowly dwindling to nothing, until only seven remained. Four soldiers, two women, and an old man were the only survivors The tiny group had been driven into valley with no way out, as the demons closed in around them.

"What is this?" Wonder Woman asked, scanning the mural, "I've never seen anything like this even back home…"

"This is the history of the Guardians," Ace said regarding the mural with quiet intensity, "It tells the entire story of how the Seven Spirits came to be, and the wars between the Light and Shadow."

"What about these men?" Aquaman said pointing to the trapped group, "What importance do they have in this history of yours."

"Them?" Ace said with a humorous grin on his face as he pushed through yet another set of doors.

The hall opened into an elegant chamber that dwarfed even the Giant's cavern behind them. Runes, paintings, and statues covered the floor of the room, arranged in an eternal vigil against anyone who would dare to intrude. Besides the entrance they'd come through, there were seven other sets of doors that entered into the chamber, each coming from different directions. The light came from the same mysterious glow that had lit their way back in the cavern, and seemed to divide the room into the sides of light and dark, while leaving the line between them blurred and nearly imperceptible. It was only once everyone was inside, did the true marvels of the cavern show themselves.

Carved from the same stone the room had been created from, stood seven great statues that dwarfed any other. Each stood with a solemn regality, as their eyes stared off past the bounds of time. They were donned with armor and a unique weapon that seemed to serve more as an extension of themselves rather than a tool of war. And emblazed on each, was a single symbol, all somehow similar to each other, yet strikingly different.

They stood in a half circle, all gathered around some object forgotten by time, and in between each monolith, stood the familiar forms of the seven humans left trapped in the valley. However, unlike the paintings, where they'd been beaten, weary, and completely devoid of hope, now they stood with pride and dignity, and a sense of duty.

"Those men," Ace spoke, his voice echoing in the room, "Were the only survivors of one of the Shadow's most devastating assault on mankind. An army of thousands of men, cut down to only a pathetic group of seven by the hordes of Sharrackor. But rather than die that day, help in the form of the seven Spirits came to their aid. This was the final battle between the two entities, and the place where the Shadows were sealed away for all time."

Ace stood a little taller, as he regarded the statues of the men before him.

"Those men and women," He said with pride, "Were the First Guardians of the Crests. They were the only witnesses to the Sealing, and the ones who the Seven Spirits entrusted with their very souls."

Flash let out a low whistle, as he scanned the room with wide eyes.

"Man," He said impressed, "How come the League doesn't have anything like this? I mean the Watchtower's cool and all but- WHOA!"

Flash stumbled backwards, tripping over his own feet, and still scrambling to back up as fast as he could. Fear shone in his eyes, even through his mask.

"Flash?!" Superman yelled, as the speedster ran into him, "What is your prob…lem…."

Superman's sentence died halfway through, as his eyes followed Flash's shaking hand. Protruding halfway out of the wall, just above the doorway they'd come through, a demon lorded above the room, shrouding its half in its shadow. It's helm jutted out in a razor sharp maze of twisted black metal, with two rubies that shone out from underneath with a penetrating stare. Its arms were coved in the same cursed armor, while sharp daggers of bone stuck out of the back of it's elbows, both stained a grizzly color of red. Two massive wings stuck out of its back, taking up almost the entire wall with their span, and adding to his overall size. And what wasn't sticking out of the wall, was rendered in horrific detail on the plaster behind it, where it seemed to embody the very shadows that surrounded it.

"Justice League," Ace said with a detectable tone of venom seeping into his voice, "Meet the Dark Lord of Shadow, Sharrackor."

"That can't be real," Wonder Woman said defiantly, "This…_thing_ must just be a depraved artist's idea of your 'Dark Lord'"

Ace threw back his head and laughed at the Amazon's comment. It was completely devoid of humor, and sent a wary chill down the spines of everyone in the room.

"How close you are to the truth Princess!" Ace said, still laughing almost in disbelief, "The artist who made that was nowhere _close_ to capturing the Demon's visage. Clever lighting and color only go so far into evoking the kind of fear that just comes natural to such a beast."

"And just what kind of cowards do you think we are?" Wonder Woman said trying her best to stare down Ace, "We have faced everything from an Alien invasion, to Lord Hades himself!"

"Oh Diana…" Ace said shaking his head, as his eyes began to darken, "That's just it…..Sharrackor is _not_ Hades…"

Ace turned to face the monster with pure rage and hatred blazing fiercely in his cerulean eyes.

"When _He_ stares at you, you will rather take your own life and chance the horrors of the Afterlife than go on another second under his gaze! When _He_ appears, even the very sun in the sky hides in terror, leaving the rest of the world to flounder in the darkness before Him!"

Ace was almost screaming now at the lifeless statue, his chest heaving with raw anger. His fists were clenched so tightly, blood ran over his knuckles in crimson streaks, to puddle on the floor.

"Ace," J'onn said quietly placing a hand on Ace's shoulder, "You speak of this demon as if you have actually seen it."

"Seen it?" Ace scoffed bitterly, "_I fought it_."

Ace pulled Tecastu slowly from its sheath on his back, and drove the blade into the stone floor at his feet.

"Haven't any of you wondered why someone like me would carry a black blade? The metal's been stained with that terror's blood!" Ace said looking at each of the heroes, "And that scar on my shoulder, J'onn. That came from _Him_. To this day I don't know how the Demon managed to break through the Barrier, but he did. And he came straight to my home, and_ slaughtered_ every last person. Except me."

"And now….." He continued, trying to keep a hold of himself, "That monster's going to taste daylight again."

"That's not true," Superman said adamantly, "We still have time to find Argon and stop him."

Ace sat down and put his back against his sword, running his hand through his hair and shaking his head in defeat.

"No," He sighed, "Because it's already too late."

"What are you talking about?" Hawkgirl asked

Ace waved a hand up towards the ceiling. Near the top, there was an intricate metal cage, woven from the finest silver threads to create an almost transparent mesh, that even glowed with its own light. But on one side, the mesh had been sheered open, leaving the cage with a twisted, gaping hole on one side.

"That cage held the Aeollora Stone," Ace said, "That's what Argon was after, and that's what he's using to tear the Barrier apart."

--

GOTC: Alright, enough for this chapter. I do ask again for your forgiveness in my lateness, and that you should all R&R so that I know that at least some one is still reading this! Thanks!


	9. Passing the Torch

Gotc: Hallo everyone! Once again, I have failed you all with my horribly delayed posting. I do apologize, however I do have a good reason!

Ace: Making a graphic novel out of this trash is not a good reason.

Gotc: Way to ruin the surprise.

Ace: What surprise? You can't even find an artist for the thing!

Gotc: Remind me to stop feeding you. Anyway, if that particular project ever does get off the ground, you guys'll be they first to know. Now to address another item! There are ten people who have favorited this story!! Thank you to all of you, especially my most loyal reviewer Angel of Darkness513!! As you all know, this story feeds off of your reviews, so please review so I can get some feedback! If not…well, I'm still working on that. Anyway, shall we get on to why you're all here? SQUEAKY!!

Squeaky: Squeak! (Gotc doesn't own the League, but Ace is hers so no touching!)

Ace: Just get on with it and put me out of my misery….

Gotc: As you wish!

_--_

_Rise of the Guardian 2: Forbidden Memories_

CHAPTER 8: Passing the Torch

Speculation began to fly around the room almost instantly, most of which centered around Argon's location. However it didn't take long for the conversation to shift to how to deal with the situation once it arose; timelines, plans of attack, contingency plans.

Ace said nothing the whole time. He sat with his back against the massive statue of Kyron, staring out into space lost in his own mind.

"Our first priority should be to contact the world leaders," Superman reasoned, "If we're going to be facing an army we may need some backup."

"No," Batman argued, "Right now we should be focused on actually finding Argon and possibly reversing this barrier's deterioration."

"Batman's right," J'onn agreed, "By involving anyone else in this, we'd only be increasing the chances for higher casualties."

"Oh come on," Hawkgirl scoffed, "I know this guy looks bad, but do you really think that he'll be more than we can handle ourselves?"

"That 'guy' had Ace pretty shaken up," Wonder Woman retorted, "We would be wise to approach all of this with caution."

"Stop talking like any of you are going to be helping anyway." Ace said at last breaking his silence, and brushing past the group.

Ace heard the irritated groan from behind him. He knew he sounded like a broken record, but he couldn't help it, there wasn't a chance in this life or the next that he was going to let any of them help now. His strides brought him to an ornate panel, which swung open as his hand brushed across it. A plume of dust and stale air boiled out a the dark corridor, but it didn't deter Ace as he stepped inside. He knew it wouldn't be long before the rest of the League followed him inside, but his hand touched a heavy wrapped parcel. He hefted it onto his shoulder, making sure the stone door shut tight behind him.

"What is that?" Aquaman inquired, examining the pack now perched on Ace's shoulder. It was bundled tightly with thick leather straps and soft cloths, completely obscuring it's form.

"Nothing," Ace replied curtly, as a new grim determination set itself in Ace's eyes.

"That 'nothing' is pretty big," Hawkgirl scoffed, "Don't you think?"

Ace said nothing, but walked past everyone with a stolid silence back to the door, his face drawn into a hard line.

"Come on," He said gruffly, "We found out what we came here for, and now it's time to go. We've spent too much time here as it is. Wouldn't want to _impose_ anymore than we have to."

Ace practically spit the last sentence out of his mouth, and it was enough to finally drive Aquaman over the edge. The king charged Ace and caught him hard around the middle, throwing both of them to the ground. The bundle went flying from Ace's grasp with a metallic clank, as the two hit the stone floor. Ace was on his back in an instant, wedging his feet under his attacker and throwing him off with a single heave. Aquaman landed nimbly on his feet, although Ace merely rolled onto his side, holding his head in one hand. Aquaman moved to charge Ace again, but Batman stopped him before he could get any real momentum going. The king cast a glare at the Dark Knight, but did relax and walk back through the temple doors.

Ace watched him for a moment, before stiffly getting back to his feet, brushing off any offers for help. He picked up his pack with a faint groan, as the others filed out through the massive stone doors. He could feel their eyes on him, but the feeling was far away. He readjusted the pack so it sat comfortably on his shoulder again, and cast one last look back into the temple, before pulling the doors shut behind him.

--

"Boy does it feel good to be out of there!" Flash said stretching himself, as he group re emerged back into the throne room.

"You said it," Hawkgirl said opening her wings before resettling them against her back, "Me and tight places don't exactly get along."

"I don't know how you do it Bats," Flash said looping an arm around Batman's shoulders, "Going for days on end without breathing the fresh air and looking up at the clear blue sky."

Flash quickly backed off, as Batman narrowed his eyes at the Speedster in clear irritation.

"You do realize that we're still three miles _underwater_, Right?" Batman said, with the barest of humor in his voice.

Behind the whole procession, Ace finally emerged from the tunnel. He watched the group in front of him with quiet observation, not wanting to draw attention to himself. He could see Superman shaking hands with the King, all traces of anger wiped clean from his face. Flash was tormenting Batman, while the Wonder Woman stood just off to the side watching the exchange with a grin. Even Hawkgirl and Green Lantern were walking together back to the waiting Javelin.

Only after Superman turned his back to the King to follow the rest of the League, did Ace start to follow after them. He walked past the King without so much as a backward glance, and began to descend the steps, when something below caught his eye.

He could see the marketplace off to the side of the palace, bursting with busy people, all hurrying about their lives. Traders were calling out into the crowd, each trying to draw customers to buy their wares. Children ran through the throngs of people, laughing and screaming as they chased one another through the hustle and bustle. He could see friends meeting near a food stall, before leaving to explore the rest of the city, and two lovers catch each other up into a warm embrace.

Ace stood still, letting time pass him by without any other thought than to watch the scene below, and to fight back the memories that were threatening to come rushing back.

"Your friends are going to leave without you," A gruff voice said bringing Ace back to reality.

Ace didn't say anything for a moment, glancing out to the seascape that lay beyond Atlantis's protective dome. He could see the buildings covered in thick layers of mud, rotting and falling apart. Houses stood empty and vacant, housing schools of tiny translucent fish in the hollow echo of life.

"Aquaman," Ace said in a low voice, fighting to keep it steady, "I want to apologize."

The King raised a surprised eyebrow at the man before him, as he turned to face him. Ace's face was set in a clear mask, but his voice fought to form every word without emotion.

"I was wrong to criticize your kingdom," Ace said heavily, "Your people flourish, thanks to your rule, and I had no right to claim otherwise."

Aquaman wasn't quite sure what to say to that. He had no doubt in his mind that the words coming from Ace's mouth were anything but sincere. He placed both hands on Ace's shoulders for a brief moment.

"We all are entitled to our own opinions," Aquaman said, "Forgive me for my actions against you. You have already proved you are the rightful king of this country, and had every right to b angry."

"I wasn't angry," Ace sighed, "I was blind. Even now, I see your people carry out their lives below, but I don't see the Atlantis I know. The nation I belong to has been dead for a long time, even though her king may still live."

Ace managed to force a smile on his face, as he looked up at Aquaman.

"_Your _country, however, is still alive," He said with a smile, "And owes her prosperity to the true King of Atlantis, not some ghost from her past."

Aquaman clapped Ace on the shoulder once, as the realization of his words sank in.

"You would have made a great king," Aquaman said.

"Maybe," Ace said turning to leave, "But I know you _will._ Of course, if you keep those walls spotless, who's gonna know about it when you're dead and gone?"

Ace laughed, as he turned his back to the King and followed after the League. Flash was still outside waiting for him, probably getting ready to head back to see what was taking him so long.

"Geez," Flash joked, "What took ya? We thought maybe you got stuck in there."

"I'm here aren't I?" Ace said, playfully jabbing at Flash's arm.

"Yeah," Flash said doubtfully, "But you were gone a while. We though you were right behind us."

"I was, but I had to pass the torch on."

"What does that mean?"

Ace only laughed to himself, leaving Flash to ponder his words as they boarded the Javelin. Minutes later, the jet had already cleared the dome, and was rapidly disappearing from the city's sight, while her king looked on until he could no longer see it's form. One of the guards walked up next to him to see if he was alright, and Aquaman nodded with a deep sigh.

"Yes, Captain," He said steeling one more glance at the sea where the Javelin had been, "I'm alright. But go fetch Calpisian for me and have him come to my throne room."

"The artisan?" The captain asked with some confusion, "What for?"

"Because," Aquaman said walking back inside, "I think I'm getting a little bored of white…."

--

Atlantis was only a speck of light on the ocean floor, when Ace flopped into his seat, dropping the pack onto the floor next to him. Around him the rest of the League continued to speculate about the break in, but Ace was somewhere else, partly due to the throbbing headache that had manifested just behind his eyes. He leaned his head back and silently listened to the others around him.

"I don't care if he is some kind of Guardian," Lantern said, "I'm telling you, that there's no way he could dive that far down here without some kind of help."

"Lantern has a point," J'onn said, "It's nearly impossible for someone to achieve that kind of feat on their own."

"Ok, so then Argon has an accomplice," Superman summed up, "Ace, any ideas who?"

Ace drew in a deep breath, and laid his head in his hands. His head felt like it was going to crack open, and the feeling was spreading to the rest of his body. The pain was making it hard to think straight.

"First of all," Ace groaned, "Don't ever call that..traitor a Guardian, and….second….."

Ace never got to finish his sentence, before a jolt of pain wracked through his body. He slumped forward in his seat, with a pained gasp, his whole body going limp. But the pain was still there, coursing through him mercilessly, leaving him unable to hardly breath, much less move. He could feel someone release his harness, and pull him out onto the floor. He could hear voices all talking at once, before the darkness creeping along the edges of his vision, pulled him away from the pain.

--

Gotc: Oooooohhhhh……What's wrong with Ace? Hmmmmmm? Well, you all will just have to find out in our next chapter!! And I promise, there's gonna be some BM/WW stuffage happening real soon, but you'll have to read to find out when! See you all next chappie!


	10. Out of the Pan, and into the Fire

Gotc: Ok, so it's taken me a while to get around to typing this up, so I'm not gonna make you all sit through a long and boring disclaimer just to get to the good stuff.

Ace: The first step to recovery is admitting you have a problem. Hopefully she'll admit the same about the stories too-

Gotc: Happy place, happy place, happy place……Squeaky! Happy place, happy place, happy place…..

Squeaky: Squeak! (Go on and read folks before our authoress's happy place includes strangling a certain Ace character. Good thing she doesn't own anything else or she might be in for some property damage lawsuits as well as copyright infringement.)

Gotc: So true! So have fun reading while I go find a nice bat to play with Ace…. Later!

_Rise of the Guardian 2: Forbidden Memories_

CHAPTER 9: Out of the Pan, and into the Fire

_Ace was lost, adrift in a black sea of nothingness. He knew there was something wrong, something that shouldn't be happening was, but in the calm of the void he simply couldn't grasp what it was. That simple fact left him feeling utterly hollow inside. _

_But here, he was blissfully free from pain, from worry, from the world. Here, whatever was happening to the rest of the outside world, wasn't his problem. Even so, he couldn't shake the feeling there was something he had to do, and that he didn't belong in this place. _

_Through the silence, he could hear a faint voice calling out in the darkness. He could hear panic in the voice, but just couldn't understand why. Why would anyone be concerned about anything in a place so peaceful?_

_Then, without warning, a pair of blood red eyes flashed in the shadows, boring straight into Ace's soul. Searing agony ripped through his shoulder, paralyzing the scream that formed on his lips. Maniacal laughter invaded the solemn silence, attacking him from every side._

"_**You are nothing. A pawn left alone to fight a war you cannot possibly hope to win."**_

_Ace screwed his eyes shut in a vain attempt to keep the voice, the mocking laughter, out of his mind. Still through it all, he could hear that same worried voice calling out to him. So to that voice, Ace clung. He held on to it, determined not to let it slip away and leave him in this madness. Slowly, it became louder and clearer, while the laughter died away. The darkness began to fade, replaced by a soft warm light. Even the calm that surrounded him vanished with the caress of a gentle breeze._

It was difficult to open his eyes again. He felt drained and weary, but at last managed to part his eyelids and sit up. The room he was in was decorated in a simple elegance, with no walls, but rather the room open to the rest of the world save for a few thin white curtains that fluttered delicately in the breeze of a setting sun. He could smell the salt on the breeze and hear the soft churning of the water nearby, along with faint footsteps coming towards him.

"Ace! You're awake!" Came the familiar voice of Hawkgirl, as she rushed to his bedside, "We never thought you would wake up after you passed out in the Javelin. J'onn tried to reach you telepathically, but even then-"

"Wait," Ace stopped her, surprised at how feeble his own voice sounded, "J'onn was in my head?"

"I am sorry," A strange female voice replied, "But you had taken a turn for the worst, and it was our best option at reviving you."

Ace turned his head to see the blonde that had seemingly materialized out of nowhere. Ace had never seen _her_ before in his life, but he had no doubt of who was standing before him.

"Did you see anything?" Was Ace's only question.

"No," The disguised Martian shook his head with a wry grin, "Your mental defenses are…. Impressive to say the least. The most I was able to do was stand at the threshold of your mind and call out to you."

"And for that I'm grateful," Ace sighed, laying back onto the pillows, "How long was I out anyway? And where are we? And where's the rest of the League?"

J'onn and Shayera exchanged uneasy glances under a suddenly accusing glare from Ace

"You were unconscious almost two days," Hawkgirl said offering him a bowl of water, "We tried for an hour to stabilize you on the Javelin, but when you began seizing Batman said you weren't going to last until we got you back to the Watchtower."

"Great," Ace said nonchalantly, "well glad to know that whatever you did worked, but that still doesn't answer-"

A sudden thought hit him, and his eyes darted around the room again. Mentally, he smacked himself for not immediately recognizing the obviously Grecian architecture and influences all around him, nor the reason for J'onn's odd choice of a disguise.

"Hawkgirl," Ace said slowly, "Please tell me we are anywhere else but Themyascira."

"How do you even know about the Amazon's home?" J'onn asked puzzled.

"Does Hippolyta know I'm here?" Ace asked with a sudden air of urgency in his voice, scrambling to get out of bed.

"Well, yes. We had to give her a reason to be able to treat you on the island," Hawkgirl said confused to Ace's reaction, "But she did ask to meet you one you were awake-"

"We're leaving," Ace said scooping up his sword which had been laid against a nearby pillar, "Now."

But Ace had no sooner shouldered the blade, when the Queen of the Amazons herself stepped out from around the same pillar. She had a stone-like look set on her face, her eyes flashing as she tried to stare down Ace. In the same instant, a dozen more Amazons appeared from nowhere, each with a spear aimed right at Ace. Ace let loose a defeated groan, and gently set Tecatsu back down against the pillar.

"Hippolyta," He chuckled nervously, "It really has been too long-"

"Save your formalities for someone who will actually believe them," She snapped, "I was wondering when I would get a second chance at your head, and now I have it."

"Ace!" Hawkgirl yelled in surprise, "What did you do?!"

"I…" Ace mumbled sheepishly, " Well you remember the Imperium invasion, right? Well, Kye and I got into a bit of a skirmish with one of their aerial scouts and sorta-"

"Destroyed it by crashing it right into the Temple of Athena!" Hippolyta finished angrily, "It took us months to rebuild your carelessness!"

"I wonder how long it would have taken the Imperium to take over Themyscira once it returned home?" Ace retorted, earning him a menacing poke in the back by a spear holder.

"It is a crime of the highest punishment to defile a Temple of the Goddess," The queen barked, "No matter what the circumstances may have been."

"Oh come on!" Ace rolled his eyes, "Athena is the Goddess of War and Heroic Virtue! Surely she would understand-"

"DO NOT SPEAK OF OUR GODS AS IF THEY WERE YOUR OWN!" Hippolyta roared at Ace, "Bind him and take him at the Temple, so the Goddess herself may decide his fate."

Ace opened his mouth to say something, but was gagged the instant he opened his mouth as the guards quickly set to work on their Queen's order. Hawkgirl attempted to lunge at the nearest guard to throw them off of Ace, but was held back by one of J'onn's strong arms.

"Let him go!" She demanded, still fighting against J'onn, "He did what he had to do to protect you! Can't you show any mercy?"

Hippolyta turned to Hawkgirl and gave her a regarding look.

"Unfortunately," She said slowly, "There is no excuse for his crimes. And there is also a punishment for those who delivered this defiler back to this island's hallowed shores."

At their queen's words, half of the guards, turned and surrounded Hawkgirl and J'onn. Both Leaguers assumed a fighting stance, ready to attack should their attackers make a move.

"We've already taken your friends," Hippolyta said simply, "So you can come with us of your own free will, or bound and gagged like this one."

The two exchanged a wordless glance, deciding that it would be in everyone's best interests to be as free as possible should the opportunity for escape arise. They dropped their fists, and a thin smile crossed Hippolyta's lips.

"I sure hope you treat other visitors with more respect," Ace snarled, having chewed through his gag.

Hippolyta never even gave him a passing glance as she began to walk back in the direction of the city. As she mounted her horse, she did turn back and looked him in the eyes.

"I had more hope for the Atlantean race than this," She scoffed, "At least the last two to visit this island knew their manners."

Ace's eyes widened in a mix of surprise and confusion as her words hit a nerve.

"Hippolyta! Who was the other Atlantean?!" He called out after her, as she began to ride away.

He thrashed against his captors, trying to get free, screaming after a retreating Hippolyta all the while.

"Hippolyta! Who was the other?!?!! HIPPOLYTA!!!!!"

------

Gotc: Wow…so it took me a very long time to get over my slump, and one review in particular. So thanks to BMWWfan for the little nudge it took me to get writing this again! For that this chappie is dedicated to you! Anyway, hope you all liked the cliffie, and you'll have to wait until next time for this whole mess to unfold! Toodles!


	11. Weep Not for the Past

Gotc: -sobbing-

Ace: Mischief, I blame you for this. Why did your review have to be so long? Hrmmmm? Well? She's supposed to be working on college things, but instead she's re-read that review-

Gotc: -More sobbing- BEST. REVIEW. EVER!!!

Ace: You're just happy cuz someone willingly told you that you wasted two hours of their life.

Gotc: Duh. And for that, I shall launch into the next installment of this tale. SQUEAKY!

Squeaky: Squeak! (Only two? I've seen Ace with his face smashed in a refrigerator for longer than that. Oh yeah, if they wear colorful costumes, they're not ours. Jean jackets don't count.)

Gotc: Yes indeed. Now on with the fic, before I get caught doing something other than my intended assignment!

--------------

_Rise of the Guardian 2: Forbidden Memories_

CHAPTER 10: Weep Not for the Past

Two days was long enough for anyone to be trapped inside. Batman had done it before, but that was only after a particularly nasty bout with one of the Scarecrow's newest toxins, and the first thief that had come at him with a knife paid dearly for his pent-up frustration. Come to think of it, he had red hair too…..

"It's been a few hours since J'onn reported in," Flash stated for the third time in twenty minutes

"J'onn and Hawkgirl will call us when there's something to report." Batman said shortly.

"What if something happened though?" Flash continued, "What if something happened to them, or Ace for that matter? I could just zip over there for a sec and get an update-"

"FLASH!" Batman snapped, "The Amazons know we're here, and just because we can't see them, doesn't mean they aren't watching every move we make. Fast as you may be, they've probably prepared for any attempt we would make to leave the ship."

"Yeah, but-"

"No," Batman growled, "The fact that we were even able to bring Ace onto Themyscira consisted of our deal that we wouldn't set foot on the island itself. It took us three hours of explaining to the guards that there was an emergency halfway across the globe for them to let the others _off_ the island. Do you really think they're going to have any desire to let you _on_? "

Flash continued to pace at an annoyingly fast pace next to Batman, as he continued to scour the screen in front of him for any new clues as to the enemy that existed on the other side of a rapidly fading barrier. But like most things that were connected with Ace, his searches had come up fruitless. If there was one thing the Dark Knight did not like, it was not knowing. Knowing his opponent, knowing a way out, knowing how to fight back; Knowledge was his only way of staying alive in the hostile world in which he and the League lived. The fact that he knew very little about this unseen foe irritated and unnerved him. This was uncharted territory for both him and the League, and a small part of his mind couldn't help replaying Ace's words:

"_Your job is to protect this planet from everything in the known universe; My job is to protect it from everything it has forgotten…"_

Batman sighed inwardly, trying to force the words from his mind. He knew full well that sometimes, things that are forgotten could be far more dangerous than facing the unknown.

Sitting back in his seat, he rubbed his tired eyes through the fabric of his cowl. He cast a surreptitious glance to the seat across the aisle that had been vacant since she left the island 18 hours ago. That was about the same time Flash seemed to really start working on his already fraying nerves. He wasn't sure if it was her presence that kept him in check, or if Flash was simply being more annoying than usual.

"_It's Flash,_" He told himself, "_Diana has nothing to do with it._"

"_Sure, whatever helps you sleep better,"_ Another part of him scoffed, "_It's not like she could ever be that 'special someone'."_

"_There is nothing special about her. She is a valued friend and a respected colleague."_

"_She's beautiful, confident, intelligent. What more do you want from her?"_

"_Nothing. She's perfect in absolutely everyway."_

"_What makes you thing she doesn't think the same way about you?"_

"_She's a princess from an island of immortal Amazon warriors, and I'm a rich kid with issues."_

"_And she still keeps trying to get close to you."_

For the first time, the Batman had no response to his own argument, even though the other half of his mind continued on.

"_How long do you think she will wait? How long do you thing you may actually have? No one doubts you belong in the League, but don't kid yourself that you could ever survive even half of the abuse they can take. Sure you don't feel it now, you're young. But what about five, ten years down the road? Do you ever stop to think that maybe one day this could all come to a very abrupt end? And what will you have to show for your livelong 'quest'? Nightwing's moved on, Barbra has her own life, and Tim…. All you have to your name, is an empty house and Alfred. Do you truly believe that being happy, even for just a little while, would ruin your life? Would it really hurt to give her a chance?"_

"_Bruce Wayne would only hurt her."_

"_Bruce Wayne? Or you?"_

With a frustrated growl, Batman wrenched himself out of his own thoughts and stared out the small window. He had to stop thinking about her , one way or another. Suddenly, there was a sudden flash of movement coming from somewhere just behind the tree line. For a moment, he dismissed it as paranoia, only for another flash to appear 30 meters to the right of the first.

"Flash," Batman said slowly, "Start walking towards the emergency hatch. Make it look like you're still just pacing."

"Why? What's going on?" Flash asked, stopping to glance out of Batman's window.

"Do what I told you!" Batman hissed angrily, sliding out of his chair and walking towards the front of the Javelin.

There was definitely movement in the trees ahead, and they were being discrete about it too. A quick glance over his shoulder confirmed Flash had actually listened and was ready to run if the situation arose. More movement drew his attention back to the trees, as something much bigger than a single warrior made its way through the thick foliage. Batman muttered a silent curse at how little he could see, when a loud 'twang' rang out. Batman's eyes widened, as he turned and bolted for the emergency hatch.

"Flash! Move now!" He bellowed.

It took a half a second before the hatch blew off the side of the Javelin, as a huge iron clad arrow erupted through the front of the ship. Glass exploded inward, barely missing Batman's head as he dove out the open hatch after Flash. Another arrow tore through the body of the Javelin, this one striking the fuel tank and permeating the air with the metallic smell of gas.

Batman had every intention of hitting the ground running, only to have two bodies slam into him and knock him back to the ground.

"Get me out of this thing!" He heard Flash's voice yell.

Batman's foot managed to connect with one of the Amazon Warriors that had attacked him. A quick scan found Flash pinned down under a heavy metal net, and a group of Amazons rushing towards him. He flicked two batarangs at his attackers, but it was hardly a deterrent.

"Put down your weapons," A commanding voice called out, "Or this one dies."

Batman looked for the source of the voice and found a lone Amazon with her spear pointed at the Scarlet Speedster's neck. A triumphant grin spread across her face, as Batman tried to glare her down to no avail.

"I wonder if his blood is as red as the cloth on his back?" She sneered, pressing the tip a little harder against Wally's neck.

"What do you want," Batman demanded, backing down slightly.

"Our Queen requests an audience with you and your friends," She said simply, "You can come with us quietly, or we could drag you both there, in pieces. It's your choice."

Batman let a growl escape his throat, but lowered his hands down to his sides. He tucked away the unspent projectile in his hand, while one finger brushed against a button on his belt. Less than a second later, two Amazons seized his hands and bound them tightly behind his back.

"BATS!" Flash yelled, "You're not just going to let them do this are you!?"

"We'll see what Hippolyta wants," Batman said calmly, as they led the two away, "Then we'll get out of this."

---

Even before the Temple came into sight, Batman could hear Ace bellowing at the top of his lungs. He had moved past English, and was currently spewing Atlantean at the Amazon Queen without restraint. It was some relief to know he had recovered, but the feeling quickly dissipated as he spied J'onn and Hawkgirl under heavy guard as well.

"You guys have any idea what's going on?" Flash mumbled to the other two.

"It involves Ace," Hawkgirl sighed, "I guess he destroyed some temple a while ago and Hippolyta's out for his blood."

"You sure it's not the other way around?" Flash asked, watching three more guards latch onto Ace to keep him from attacking the Queen.

"**_WHO WAS THE OTHER?!"_** An enraged roar cut in right on cue.

"You have been brought here to the Temple of Athena to be judged in the presence of the Goddess herself," Hippolyta stated, "Perhaps you have a few words of repentance?"

Ace let out a snarl and spit onto the marble floors of the temple hall, with a look of pure contempt.

"There isn't anything more your gods can possibly do to me."

Hippolyta's face contorted with rage, but before she had the opportunity to act on it, frantic shouting outside the temple cut through the tension. A burst of green light knocked the guards out of the way, as Superman, Green Lantern, and Wonder Woman came bursting into the temple halls.

"What took you so long?" Batman asked, as Diana used a forgotten spear to cut through his bonds.

"Sorry," She scoffed with a small grin, "But I guess even Superman can't hear a distress beacon while there's gunfire going off."

A rare smile crept along the Dark Knight's lips. He forgot that even immortal princesses had a sense of humor. There was a soft thump behind the two, as J'onn gently placed the last of the guards against one of pillars.

"I think we've outstayed our welcome," The Martian said, "We all should leave before any more conflict arises."

"I think someone forgot to give Ace the memo!" Lantern pointed out, running after the Atlantean.

In the confusion, Ace had managed to get loose from the guards holding him at bay, and had taken the opportunity to advance on Hippolyta. But the Queen was no helpless royal, and wasted no time in drawing her own blade to fend off the approaching threat. Even as skilled with a sword as she was, Ace managed to duck around every swipe and pass she made at him. As she lunged out at him, Ace sidestepped the blade's edge, and slapped the sword out of the Queen's hand. Free of it's burden, the same hand shot out to strike Ace in anyway she could, only to find herself locked in his iron grip.

The League was running to her aid, each afraid of what Ace would do after such a display of sheer anger. But no strike came, no retaliation. Instead, he spoke in a voice that was so weak and broken, it hardly sounded as if it belonged to the same person.

"Your highness…please…." He pleaded quietly, "I need to know…Who was the other?"

Ace dropped her arm and stepped away from Hippolyta, as the League managed to reach them. He no longer seemed like the callous monster that she remembered destroying her goddess's temple. In his place, was only a man so desperate for the answer to one question, he would defy the judgment of a God.

"It was a young woman," The Queen found herself saying, "She came to this place on a piece of driftwood barely clinging to life. Her only possessions, were a few scraps of a blue silken dress that survived the journey across the sea, and a silver bracelet on her right hand."

Ace looked as if he had been sucker punched in the stomach, his eyes wide and flicking back and forth trying to put together the new information.

"Is she…." Ace started, trying to find the words to form a sentence, "Is she still here? On this island?"

"Yes…" Hippolyta nodded hesitantly, "She is."

Ace stepped forward again and grabbed the queen, placing both hands on her shoulders. There was no trace of ill-intent in his voice, and no hint of malice in his eyes.

"You have to take me to her." Ace said, not truly asking.

"Ace," Diana said stepping forward, "I don't think-"

"Please!" Ace yelled, slightly hysterical, "I just…I need to see her!"

Hippolyta brushed Ace's hands off of her shoulders, and started to walk away from him. She looked back at the man behind her with careful scrutiny, before letting out a deep sigh.

"Follow me" She said quietly, "And I will take you to her."

----

The sea rolled onto the shore in nearly silent waves, and even the sun seemed to have dimmed out of solemn respect. Ace stood stolidly in front of a simple stone marker, while the rest of the League maintained a respectful distance away. He reached out and gently lifted the silver chain resting on top of the head stone and rolled it over and over in his hand. Suddenly it seemed like every line in his face had been magnified ten fold. Where there had been sharp cerulean eyes, two dull orbs sat sunken into their sockets. His hair hung in limp strands in his face, hardly fluttering even in the light breeze that rustled around them. Ace looked old.

He collapsed to his knees, as if someone had just cut out his legs from under him. He let his head fall against the stone, the chain still clutched tightly in his hand.

"There is no justice in this world…." A broken voice spoke, "You wanted to kill me Hippolyta? Do me a favor and stick that sword through my heart."

"Ace," Superman asked quietly, as if it was not his place to speak, "Who was she?"

There was a long silence, with only the faint sounds of the world around then to fill the empty space.

"Her name was Rinowa," Ace said hardly above a whisper, "And she was to be my wife."

----------------

Gotc: Good yes? Maybe? A little? Well hopefully you enjoyed Batman's little Gollum moment this chappie, and keep an eye out for even more BMWW stuffage on the horizon!! Laters! (Don't for get those reviews!!)


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